


My Last Dance.

by SarahBear1013



Category: EXO (Band), Moulin Rouge! (2001), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Moulin Rouge! Fusion, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, EXO - Freeform, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Gay, Gay Male Character, Gay Sex, Inspired by Blood Sweat & Tears (Music Video), Inspired by Music, Like Moulin Rouge, M/M, Moulin Rouge References, Multi, Other, Smut, Yoonseok - Freeform, bts - Freeform, namjin - Freeform, vminkook
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-11-21 15:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 41,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11359944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahBear1013/pseuds/SarahBear1013
Summary: Seokjin. The sugar baby. The star of The Pi Ttam Nunmul. The numbed lost soul. The aspiring singer and actor. The dreamer.Namjoon. The penniless writer. The hopeless romantic. The intelligent, wise, old soul. The idealist who wants to find love.The Duchess. Cunning. Manipulative. Dangerous. Beautiful. She can bend anyone to her will. She always gets what she wants.Namjoon and The Duchess both happen upon The Pi Ttam Nunmul on the same night. They both catch Seokjin's eye. Namjoon can give him love and the chance to open up his closed-off heart. The Duchess can give him financial security and an escape. Who will Seokjin choose? Or will he get a chance to choose before it's too late? In a world of intrigue, darkness, mystery, secrets, seduction, and lies, love is for the highest bidder. Anything can happen, only at The Pi Ttam Nunmul, because you will see at least one of those fluids – blood, sweat, or tears – by the time you leave.





	1. Prologue.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own BTS, the BTS members, Bang Si Hyuk, Moulin Rouge, Han Se Yeul, or any other character or thing inspired by any of these things. Any similarity to a person, living or dead, or an existing club or event is purely coincidental.
> 
> Author's Note: This is set in an alternate universe, so I changed the ages of some of the BTS members. I also would like to say that I am not in any way saying that Han Se Yeul is ANYTHING like how she will be portrayed in this book. I simply needed a visual to base The Duchess off of.

Cast of Characters:

Kim Namjoon. Age: 26. Eye color: Brown. Hair color: Blonde. He recently moved out of his uncle's house because he was tired of having his dreams crushed. He came to Seoul to pursue a career as a writer. He hasn't had any luck, but he doesn't give up. He's never experienced true love but longs for it with every fiber of his being. He's very humble and kind, but he'll do what it takes to make his dreams come true. He talks to his parents from time to time, but they're far too busy living their own lives. It also still hurts Namjoon that they cut him off after finding out he was gay.

Kim Seokjin. Age: 24. Eye color: Brown. Hair color: Black. His stage name is Jin. He's always wanted to be a great singer or actor, but he has not had the means to do so. After being ripped away from his family, he stumbled upon The Pi Ttam Nunmul when he was fifteen. He's been there ever since, becoming their star singer and highest-paid sugar baby. Guests love his voice and his broad shoulders, as well as his submissive nature. He doesn't know what love really is since he lost his family at a young age and has been passed around by strangers ever since then. He wants to be safe and secure.

The Duchess. Age: 27. Eye color: Light brown. Hair color: Black with brown highlights. She was born into extreme wealth and has never wanted for anything. When her grandparents passed away, they left all of their money to her and her single mother, leaving them even richer than they were before. She found out early on in life that it was easy for her to manipulate and control men and women to get whatever she wants, whether it's drugs, sex, money, or attention. She loves vulnerability, and Seokjin is the exact kind of person she looks for, for her schemes.

Bang SiHyuk. Age: 35. Eye color: Brown, but he's known to wear green contacts. Hair color: Black. He is the owner of The Pi Ttam Nunmul. He's not necessarily a devious man, but he does love money and power. He loves making the men and women who work for him do his bidding, minus sexual favors. He protects them, and devotes himself to making sure they're taken care of, even if it means making decisions that prove to be bad ones later.

The Pi Ttam Nunmul Dancers~

Park Jimin. Age: 21. Eye color: Brown. Hair color: Dark brown. His stage name is Jimin. He is known for his sinful hips, devilish smirking, and high notes during his songs that make you swoon. He also supports Seokjin however he can because he's like a parent to him. He's one of the most highly requested sugar babies because he incorporates his famous hip movements into his sexual activities, and he always leaves his guests wanting more.

Jeon Jungkook. Age: 19. Eye color: Brown, but he frequently wears different colored contacts. His stage name is Jungkook. He's good at pretty much everything he does, and patrons love the smoldering gazes he gives. He has the ability to look innocent even while he's talking dirty. His hips are almost as sinful as Jimin's, but he's not complaining while he's underneath him when they're in the throes of passion.

Other Important Characters~

Jung Hoseok. Age: 23. Eye color: Brown. Hair color: Sandy brown. He's a literal ball of sunshine who openly welcomes so many people into his life that it makes people wonder who are friends and who are more than friends. He's also very positive and uplifting. He doesn't work for The Pi Ttam Nunmul, but he gets around. Or at least he did, until a certain special someone was able to (mostly) tame him.

Kim Taehyung. Age: 21. Eye color: Brown, but he is known to wear blue or gray contacts. Hair color: Golden brown with dark blonde highlights. He's a singer who has a very wide vocal range and stunning facial features. He's somewhat shy, but when he's around his best friends (and boyfriends), he's almost as positive and outgoing as Hoseok is.

Min Yoongi. Age: 25. Eye color: Brown. Hair color: Dark red. He has the looks of an angel but the voice of the devil. If he is woken out of a slumber, may God have mercy on whoever woke him up. However, he's a caring, old soul, and he's happy to share his wisdom with whoever needs it. He takes in Namjoon and lets him live with him and Hoseok, who may or may not have a romantic thing going on.

Minor Characters~

Jo Mi Hae (Stage name Miryo), Son Ga In (Stage name GaIn, and Kim Hyo Jin (Stage name Jea). Female dancers at The Pi Ttam Nunmul.

Zhang Yixing (Stage name Lay), Kim Jong In (Stage name Kai). Other male dancers at The Pi Ttam Nunmul.

Kim Junmyeon (Nickname Suho). Seokjin's best friend and caretaker of sorts.

Kim Minseok and Byun Baekhyun. The Duchess's Henchmen who were forced into working for her.


	2. I.

“Yes, Eomma. I have a place to live, and I have a couple of interviews lined up with newspaper companies. The people I'm living with have money, and they're willing to help me until I get back on my feet.” Namjoon settles into his seat on the train as he continues the conversation with his mother. She was more soft than his father had been about his decision to 'be a gay writer' (her words, of course) but she still was not supportive of him any way. It was her decision to ship him off to live with his uncle, but after a couple of years, he got sick of his constant judgment too, so the second he graduated with his degree in creative writing, he left for Seoul.

“I am concerned for your safety, but I can not support you, even if I wanted to.” His mother's voice sounds curt and strained, making Namjoon roll his eyes. “I love you, Namjoon.” Her voice drops to a whisper before the line goes dead, not giving him a chance to respond. He sighs, tapping his phone's screen until he gets to Netflix, and he leans back slightly as he chooses a movie at random and plugs his headphones in.

“I love you too, Eomma.” he whispers to the thin air, as if the words can somehow travel to her ears. He misses his parents so much. He wishes they'd accepted him. Maybe this would be a good chance for him to start fresh, though; to pursue his dreams without fear of being held back. Not only his dream of being a famous writer, but also his dream of finding love with a man who would complete him like no one else never had. This thought brings a smile to his face as he returns his focus to his movie and counts down the minutes until his new life starts.

He'll get to Yoongi and Hoseok's place in the early evening; it's early afternoon now, so he takes the time to enjoy the scenery after his movie is over, a hopeful smile gracing his strong, beautiful face.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Why do I have to wear this?” Seokjin grumbles, tugging harshly on the bright purple leather vest and black silk pants he has on. Both are a size too small, and they show off his muscles and outline his bulge. This makes him frown. He loves pleasing people, but he likes leaving something to the imagination. “I might as well be naked!”

Junmyeon sighs. “Because this client requested it, you know that. He said he would pay you double to wear purple.” He spritzes hairspray over a strand of Seokjin's raven hair to make it stay in place, and he touches up the other's eye liner. “You know you won't be wearing it for long, anyway!” He says with a smirk that makes the other male blush. “And you need to hurry up with this session too, because there's a new patron coming tonight. The Duchess wants to scope out the place and see what my pretty dancers have to offer.”

Seokjin sighs heavily. “Shit. I forgot about the Duchess coming. I wonder what she'll think when she finds out that half of our male dancers are gay!” The two share a laugh as Seokjin unbuttons the top button of his vest, gaining a nod of approval from his hyung, and takes on a more playful mood as he goes to meet his client, Park Jaebum. (A/N: AKA Jay Park.)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yoongi wakes with a start when he hears Hoseok's loud yelling throughout their house. “I swear he's the only one I tolerate this from,” he grumbles to himself. Pulling the covers back over his head, he attempts to go back to his little dream land that's filled with thoughts of his boyfriend, but before he can, said male leaps onto the bed, making Yoongi groan as the covers are pulled away. “Hoseok, why?” he whines.

“Because today is the day Namjoon is officially moving in, and we need to make sure the house is perfectly clean! I also need you to cook your famous kimchi, because he said he likes kimchi a lot, and you make it better than I do. I put fresh sheets on the guest room bed and swept, mopped, and vacuumed, so all that really needs to be done is-” Yoongi shushes his boyfriend's tirade with a kiss.

“Baby, it's okay. I will make my kimchi, and I'll also clean the bathrooms. We have time. Relax. Come to bed with me. He won't be here until tonight.” With one more kiss, they're lost in each other for the next couple of hours.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Duchess steps out of her limo, extending a gloved hand to Baekhyun so he can help her get out. It's far too warm for gloves, but she doesn't like getting her hands dirty. She smooths down her hair and inches her skirt down her thighs from where it rode up during the ride, and she squints in the sunlight to look at the front of the finest hotel in Seoul. She smiles, satisfied that it is, in fact, the one she'd booked, and she walks ahead of Minseok, Baekhyun, and her driver, leaving them to handle her heavy luggage. She turns back to them with a sneer as they're struggling with her largest suitcase. “Aren't you three incompetent idiots finished yet?” She scoffs and turns back to the building, waiting for one of those fools to get the door for her, and she smiles a sugary sweet smile when an older uniformed man opens the door for her with a bow.

“Thank you, sir!” She says cheerily.

“You are welcome, Miss.” He continues to hold the door for the three young men as they walk through with as much dignity as they can while breathing heavily with the effort of keeping their balance and simultaneously carrying and rolling the Duchess's various suitcases and bags. A bellboy comes hurrying up with a cart, and they gratefully – and carefully, because God forbid even the slightest blemish or scratch should befall her precious Versace luggage – place everything on the cart and decline the bellboy's kind offer to help them further, but they give him a generous tip when their mistress isn't looking.

When they've finally made it to her room – the Penthouse suite of course – she immediately demands her things get unpacked, not lifting a finger to help with any of it, but a smirk crosses her plump lips as she catches Baekhyun's eye. “Come here, love. Join me in the shower, hm? I don't want to be too worked up when we go to The Pi Ttam Nunmul tonight.” The said male carefully hands off his mistress's large jewelry box to Minseok before loosening his tie and following her. He hates her, but damn if she isn't good in bed. It's then that he suddenly feels glad that she booked the whole floor as well (it only really consisted of two other suites, neither of which were being used by her or her small party). She tended to get quite vocal, which Baekhyun wasn't about to complain about.

“Yes, ma'am!” Baekhyun smiles lasciviously as he closes and locks the door behind them, drawing a giggle from the woman's throat as he leads her to the bathroom.


	3. II.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first night. Namjoon is now living with Yoongi and Hoseok.
> 
> The Duchess and Namjoon each get ready to go to The Pi Ttam Nunmul.
> 
> Seokjin prepares for his performance with the other male dancers.

“I'm ready, boys. How do I look?” The Duchess smiles at Minseok and Baekhyun, and their jaws drop. She's wearing a floor-length, low-cut black dress with a slit that runs up to the top of her thigh. The skirt moves when she does and is sheer lace, overlaying a layer of red silk underneath. Her shoes are black five-inch open-toe heels with laces that wrap around all the way up her slender legs, and she's wearing a simple necklace with a ruby pendant. Her hair is curled and swept to one side to show off simple ruby earrings. To put it simply, she looks stunning.

“You look perfect, Mistress.” both men utter simultaneously.

The woman chuckles, her ruby red lips parting to reveal her perfect white teeth. “Thank you.” She puts on her matching red opera-length gloves that have a black lace overlay, places a few essentials in her small black evening bag, and is ready to go, being sure to fawn over her two men to keep them desiring her. 

She'll never admit it to them – or anyone else - of course, but she's a bit nervous for tonight. She's heard the dancers are gorgeous, the cream of the crop, but if she's going to invest a high amount of money into the place, she has to be all business, which is hard for her without her mother by her side. The woman had flown off to Romania with a new fling and hadn't been heard from in months. She rolls her eyes to herself, thinking about how flaky her mother has always been, and tries to focus instead on what the night could hold.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Yoongi-hyung! Where is my black silk tie?” Hoseok yells from across the house. Namjoon is in his room quietly getting ready. The pair seem very nice, and he's glad he found them to live with. They helped him unpack the few belongings he has and let him borrow a suit, insisting they take him out to The Pi Ttam Nunmul to celebrate the start of his new life. He spritzes a bit of hairspray in his perfectly coiffed blonde hair and then notices the aforementioned tie belonging to Hoseok lying on his dresser.

“Hoseok-ah, it's right here!” Namjoon's booming voice startles Yoongi, who's walking by on his way to his boyfriend to help him.

“Thank you, Namjoon-hyung. Though there's no need to yell. I can't handle two yelling children in my house.” The older smiles as Namjoon laughs and hands him the tie with a mumbled apology. “It's okay.” He gives Namjoon a nod before disappearing into the bedroom down the hall. Namjoon chuckles to himself as he listens to the couple having a hushed conversation, and he puts the finishing touches on his look. The suit is quite nice, if a bit outside of his usual taste. The slacks and jacket are black, and he's wearing a red satin cummerbund and matching tie. With black diamond cuff links and perfectly shined black shoes, he smiles satisfactorily at himself in the mirror before walking down the hall to find his two dongsaengs.

“Are we ready?” he asks, a bit nervously.

“Yes, we are!” Hoseok fixes a lock of his sandy brown hair back into place, a light blush on his cheeks, and Yoongi clears his throat, motioning to his collar. “Aish, hyung!” Hoseok says as he looks in the mirror. “Why did you have to give me a love bite?” Yoongi laughs heartily, and the younger groans as he quickly covers it up, and the trio walk out the front door and into the cool night air.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Welcome to The Pi Ttam Nunmul! The show is going to start soon, so please, get your drinks, find your seats, and get those pocket books ready so your favorite sugar babies don't get snatched up before you get your hands on them!” Band SiHyuk's voice booms over the loudspeakers, and his words make the dancers cringe. He says the same thing every night they're open, but it never gets any less cringeworthy.

“Why is he like this?” Junmyeon sighs as he helps Yixing into a jacket encrusted with diamonds on the shoulders and cuffs.

“I wish I knew, hyung. At least he dropped the line about letting the patrons backstage to 'peruse the goods we have to offer'!” The two share a grimace at that as Seokjin emerges from one of the private rooms, his vest unbuttoned and a fine sheen of sweat on his skin. Yixing perks up seeing the younger. “Hi Jin-ah! I thought you weren't going to be finished for another forty-five minutes?”

Seokjin grimaces as he rakes a hand through his hair. “He 'finished' early. His wife hasn't been paying him very much attention, so he was very worked up from all the porn he's been watching.” Yixing nods in understanding, and Seokjin continues, “I'm going to go take a shower. We have an hour before the show, right?”

“Yes, well, really an hour and seven minutes.” Junmyeon smiles after checking his watch.

“Always the literal one!” Seokjin laughs and pats his hyung on the shoulder before heading to his private suite. After he's taken his shower, dried his hair, and styled it to tousled perfection, he's surprised to see that he has about fifteen minutes left before he has to get ready for his first performance of the night. He smiles giddily to himself as he puts on his street clothes – a baby pink jacket over a white t-shirt, dark skinny jeans, and black Converse – and walks out of his suite, greeting Jongin as he walks by.

It's rare that Seokjin gets to watch any of his fellow dancers perform, so he revels in his rare excitement as he stands on the sidelines to watch GaIn, Miryo, and Jea performing a dance routine to a favorite song of their clients, Paradise Lost. If he were actually into women, he would love to date any one of them. He appreciates their fluidity and grace as they dance and sing, though. After they've finished, GaIn immediately gets hired by a sweet-looking female client, Miryo moves into her solo, and Jea hurries backstage after accepting a diamond bracelet from one of her clients with a sweet kiss. The woman hugs Seokjin as she rushes past him to get ready for her next performance, and Seokjin saunters to his private dressing room. He knows what to wear and how to do his makeup, so Junmyeon can help Jungkook, since he's a bit newer to the club.

Seokjin puts on his favorite black pants, smiling at the way they fit. Next comes his white silk button-down shirt, with cuffs that slightly cover his hands, and he leaves the top two buttons unbuttoned to give just a glimpse of his toned chest. He brushes some shimmery powder – for effect, of course, and fan service – on his cheeks and nose before he puts on his custom-made black jacket with designs stitched on it in white silk thread. It's one of his favorite looks, and he loves how the black jacket combined with the effect of his raven black hair makes him look even more handsome than usual. He's putting on his shoes when his fellow dancers and dongsaengs, Jimin and Jungkook, barge in, with smiles on their faces.

“Hi, hyung! Are you ready?” Jimin asks, his black-and-gray outfit making him look like a prince. His jacket is embroidered with the most intricate brocade, and his brown hair is tastefully mussed on his head to make him look irresistible. Jungkook obviously thinks so too from the way he's looking at the older. He's dressed similarly to Seokjin, except his jacket is emblazoned all over with white and pink flowers and the cuffs on his shirt have ruffles. His hand is securely gripping the small of Jimin's back, which is making the older blush.

“Hey Jiminie, yes I'm almost ready. I just need to put on my makeup.” Seokjin smiles as he applies his foundation, strawberry-flavored lip gloss (It was really hard for him to find some that tasted and smelled like actual strawberries, instead of the fake stuff that he finds repulsive), dark gray eye shadow, and just the lightest touch of blush before nodding to his dongsaengs, who grin salaciously at each other as they share a quick kiss before the three of them take their places onstage behind the dark purple velvet curtain. He doesn't have to look to know that Yixing and Jongin are behind them as well.

The curtain opens up as the intro to their signature song starts. Seokjin's eyes scan the crowd, and he nearly stops short when he sees, right front and center, the most gorgeous person he's ever seen, sitting with a glass of whiskey in one hand, dressed in black and red and looking utterly smoldering. The person is holding a glass of whiskey in one hand and is flanked by two men, looking a bit nervous but overall confident.

'Who IS that?'


	4. III.

After they've finished performing their signature song, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and the curtain closes, Seokjin, Jimin, Jungkook, Yixing, and Jongin make a mad dash backstage.

“You did so well, hyung!” Jungkook says, his eyes shining with adoration as he addresses Seokjin. “Your dancing has improved so much.” He sheds his jacket and hands it to Jumnyeon, and Seokjin does the same.

“Thank you, Jungkook-ah.” The oldest smiles and gives his dongsaeng a pat on the shoulder. “I'm glad to have a short break from it, though!” The two share a laugh and quickly run through a couple of vocal warm-ups as Jimin exchanges his black button-down shirt for a white one. They check their hair and wave to Yixing and Jongin as they head backstage to prepare for their next performance.

Seokjin, Jimin, and Jungkook each take a drink of water before walking back onto the stage, microphones in hand, and set them on microphone stands that one of the backstage workers has set on the stage at intervals. Large panels behind them show a dark purple light, casting the three men and the stage in a dim glow, setting the mood. The string quintet and small band off to the side are slightly hidden, and as the music gently swells and holds a note, Jungkook begins to sing, his melodic voice filling the large room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“We're here!” Hoseok beams as he pulls the car to the front of the building, handing the keys and a tip to the valet with a deep bow to show his thanks. Namjoon is taken aback by the appearance of The Pi Ttam Nunmul. The walkway is made up of stones that are in varying shades of purple and black, tastefully done so it doesn't look garish. Tall lampposts are on either side, set at intervals a couple of feet apart, and they cast the perfect amount of light to see by. The front of the building itself isn't much to look at, just simple dark-colored brick with windows lining the front and a purple velvet rope in front of the cherry wood front doors. 

Once the doorman (Namjoon learned from Yoongi that the club's owner hates the word 'bouncer') checks their IDs and lets them inside, it takes the three men a moment to let their eyes adjust to the different lighting. The floors are dark hardwood buffed to a perfect shine, the walls are done in a purple and black swirling pattern with vintage wall sconces set about fifteen feet apart from each other, and there are small tables covered in black satin table cloths with trios of simple chairs around them. There's a bar to one side, and two rows of comfortable-looking armchairs in front of the stage, which, in and of itself, is a sight to behold. Spanning the entire width of the main room, it rises four feet off of the ground, and the front is black marble with gold veining. The surface of the stage is black painted wood that looks slightly scuffed and worn down from years worth of performances. The curtain, which looks to be purple velvet with gold swirling designs, is tied back on either side, as three women are currently on it singing and dancing to a song that sounds very sensual.

“Welcome to The Pi Ttam Nunmul! Is this your first time here with us?” A man with bright green eyes walks up to the trio of men, smiling widely. He's a bit taller than Namjoon, and his eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles. Yoongi whispers in the older's ear that that's Bang SiHyuk, the owner of The Pi Ttam Nunmul.

Immediately, Namjoon, along with Yoongi and Hoseok, bow deeply before straightening up. Namjoon returns SiHyuk's smile. “Yes, sir, I just moved here today actually.”

“Well, welcome to Seoul as well, then! Since you are a first-time guest, would you and your party like a seat in the front and a few rounds of drinks on the house?” He asks warmly, and Namjoon finds himself drawn in by the man's charm.

“If you insist, Mr. Bang. Thank you so much!” He lets the owner lead the three of them to three chairs that are in the front row, gesturing to them with a grand sweep of his arm, and after they're sitting down, Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok are given drinks. Namjoon is handed a glass filled with straight whiskey, Yoongi receives a glass of rum and Coke, and Hoseok is given a glass of Sprite, since he is the designated driver. SiHyuk walks off to tend to a lavishly dressed trio of people – a woman and two men – and Namjoon settles in to enjoy the solo that one of the female dancers from before has transitioned into. He enjoys the rest of it before the curtain closes, and at once, Hoseok and Yoongi lean closer to him to tell him generally what to expect. His eyebrows shoot up, and he eagerly awaits what will come next.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Madame Duchess, we have been expecting you! Welcome, welcome, to my establishment which is, I'm sure, humble compared to many of the places in which you've lived.”

“Thank you kindly. And this place is beautiful.” Her smile is overly sweet as she daintily holds out her gloved hand for him to kiss, which SiHyuk does chastely before cordially leading her to the other seat that's front and center to the stage, right next to Namjoon. She smiles gratefully as she is handed a glass of whiskey and crosses her legs, sweeping her skirt to the side and revealing the milky skin on her thighs. The curtain closes after the female dancer's solo dance ends, and she applauds politely and awaits the next performance. “Minseok, be a dear for me and check my bank account,” she murmurs to one of her men.

After a few efficient taps on his phone screen, he whispers into her ear, “You have 75 million won, Mistress.”

“Perfect,” the woman purrs as her lips curl into an evil grin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Namjoon was sure that Yoongi and Hoseok were saying something important to him, but he'd stopped focusing the second the young men appeared on the stage. Their dance moves and voices are incredible, but one in particular catches his eye. He has black hair, and his skin shimmers under the lights that move over his skin when he dances. He's the most beautiful human being that Namjoon has ever seen. As he watches him, he seems untouchable, higher than him, on a pedestal, but at the same time, Namjoon feels like he could reach out and touch him. His heart stops when the man looks in his direction, or at least, he's pretty sure it's his direction. He's seated right next to a woman who also seems to be eyeing the same man he is, but he doesn't pay her any mind. 

The man locks eyes with him, or at least, he thinks it's him. He could also be looking at the woman next to him. Wondering about the preferences of the dancer with black hair, he drinks his whiskey slowly, watching the men move through their intricate dance, making leaps and spins and hip thrusts in perfect sync with one another. When the song ends, he sets his drink aside and applauds enthusiastically, and he smiles as he waits to see what happens next. The lilting string music of the next song fills the room, and he is immediately drawn in again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Duchess's gaze instantly falls on the man with black hair as well – what was his name, ShukGin? – and she makes bedroom eyes at him, pleased with herself when he glances in her direction – or at least, she assumes it's her direction. She watches them dance, but it's more with the mindset of 'which one, or ones, of them should I hire for my personal use?' Her eyes are all over them; their hip movements, their smirks, the way they make the stage their bitch. When she dance ends, she smiles to herself. 'I'm going to make one of them my bitch. Perhaps the one with black hair...' The thought sends a tingle through her body as she takes a small sip of her whiskey and awaits the next performance.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

House of Cards was the song where Seokjin's beautiful singing was showcased the most. Jimin and Jungkook had amazing voices as well, but Seokjin sounded like an angel when he sang it. It was remastered and pitched just right to showcase his voice. They'd had another man, Taehyung, that used to work there as a sugar baby, but he'd started a career as an actor and part-time singer. He'd sung House of Cards with the other three, so when he left, they gave all of his lines to Seokjin. When the eldest sang it, he rendered people breathless and speechless, sent shivers up their spines, and moved people to tears.

The whole time he's singing it tonight, he can't take his eyes off of the person in black and red, right in the front. It feels like the person is looking right into his soul, and he makes a vow to himself to go find them and talk to them after the show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter sucks! Idk. I'm sorry if it does~


	5. IV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update, whaaaat? :D

The song ends and, as expected, the audience is cheering wildly. SiHyuk announces something over the loudspeaker, but Namjoon is too focused on the performer with black hair. “Yoongi,” he murmurs, “who was the man with the absolutely angelic voice?”

“That would be Seokjin. He's the star here, and the most highly requested and paid sugar baby.” Yoongi grins, “Do you think you can afford him?”

“Aish. No. I don't have any money, and I used the last of what I had left to come here.” The blonde sighs mournfully and runs a hand over his face. “I just want to talk to him. He's the most beautiful man I've ever seen.” An entranced smile crosses his features, and Hoseok reaches out to pat his shoulder with a knowing smile.

“Everyone loves Seokjin. Some more than others. Hyung, I have an idea!” He suddenly perks up. “What if we tell Mr. Bang that one of us is with the Duchess, and that Namjoon is an important man who wishes to speak to him?” He addresses Yoongi, who looks skeptical.

“I don't know if that will work. We don't want to get thrown out for lying.”

“Hmm. You do have a point. How about we simply tell him that we would like to hire Seokjin for a session for our friend here? Leave everything else out of it. That way, we don't have to lie.” Hoseok smirks as he pulls his wallet out of his pocket.

Namjoon's eyes widen. “Are you sure? I can't ask you to do that, Hoseok.”

“You're not asking, I'm offering! My job pays me very well.” He winks as he goes off to find the owner.

“He's always doing things like this. You get used to it.” Yoongi laughs softly as a waitress comes by to refill his drink, and he bows his head to her in thanks. “The money he's using for this is partially mine as well, and we don't mind helping you out.” He smirks as he takes a sip of his newly refilled glass.

“Thank you, to both of you.” Namjoon feels his face heat up as he downs his drink upon Hoseok's return.

“Seokjin is waiting for you,” he says triumphantly as he plops back down into his seat.

“Wait, now?” Namjoon feels anticipation rise up in his stomach as he numbly stands from his seat.

“Yes! You'd better hurry, hyung. You only have an hour. He's behind the black silk curtain.” He lightly places a hand on the older's back, urging him to go, and Namjoon stumbles forward before regaining his footing and wandering in the same direction in which Hoseok emerged from, stopping short when he sees the curtain. His heart hammers in his chest as he pulls it to the side and walks through it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What do you two idiots think you're doing?” A woman hisses from behind Yoongi, and he jumps, nearly spilling his drink on himself. “ShukGin is mine, and I will have him. Not some tall, blonde oaf of a human being!” Yoongi would know that voice anywhere. It's that of the Duchess. His father's nemesis, and, by association, his nemesis as well. The man rolls his eyes as he turns to face her. Not being scared of her, he speaks to her in a tone dripping with as much malice as hers.

“One, his name is Seokjin. Get it right. Two, he doesn't belong to anyone. He's a human being, not a fucking toy. And three, he's gay. He won't want you. Nice try though.” He wiggles his fingers at her in a wave before grabbing Hoseok's arm with a mischievous smirk, practically dragging the younger behind him as they go to a VIP room for some privacy. A fuming, angry Duchess is left behind them, and she whirls around to face Baekhyun and Minseok, who are ready to hear whatever she has to say, but not before she looks over her shoulder, glaring after the gay couple.

“We'll see about that.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Yoongi-hyung, what are you doing?” Hoseok gasps as soon as they're behind a closed and locked door. The upbeat intro to Yixing and Jongin's duet starts playing, and the sound pulsates through the walls of the club, making them vibrate. Seeing the look on his hyung's face, eyes darkened with lust, his tongue running slowly over his already wet lips, makes Hoseok's pants feel tighter. He knows what Yoongi wants, but he yearns to feel him say it.

“I'm going to fuck my baby boy. Standing up to the Duchess like that, feeling the adrenaline rush, made other things.. rush.. as well.” The older puts emphasis on that one word as he forces his knee between Hoseok's legs, grinding against his hardening bulge and making the younger bite back a moan. Yoongi's hands travel up the younger's body, undoing the buttons on his shirt and pushing it down his arms along with his jacket. His voice drops to a low murmur. “And Yoongi isn't my name to you.”

“Daddy...” Hoseok breathes, his voice pitched high with need, and the word sends a tingle up Yoongi's spine. He presses his lips to the younger's warm, sensitive skin around his hardened nipples, murmuring what a good boy he is as he leaves love bites all over the front of his torso. “Daddy, fuck me, please...”

“Mmm, fuck. You know I love hearing you beg, baby boy. Be a good boy for Daddy and get naked.” He pulls away and frees himself of his own clothes as Hoseok hurriedly unbuckles his belt and, blushing, hands it to the older, before undoing his pants and shoving them down his legs, kicking them and his shoes to the side. Yoongi snaps the belt in the air, grinning as he watches the younger flinch. “I didn't even touch you with it, baby. What do you want me to do with it? Use your words. Use your naughty words for Daddy.” His fingers graze Hoseok's throat and sink gently into the sensitive flesh, making him moan.

“I want it around my throat, Daddy. P-please... I want to be choked.” A shudder runs up his spine as he tilts his head back, allowing the older better access.

“As you wish,” he breathes, Hoseok's words making him groan with need. He pushes the younger somewhat roughly to his knees. “Suck my cock first, baby. Make it wet, because I didn't bring any lube.” Hoseok shivers at the older's words and immediately goes to work, lathing his tongue over every inch of Yoongi's length, sucking and licking until it's almost dripping with his spit. “Mmm, that's a good boy. Such a good job, baby. I love your mouth.” Yoongi pulls Hoseok to his feet by his hair and smirks at him. “Bend over the couch. Now.”

Hoseok scrambles to obey and spreads his legs wide for the older, looking back at him and grinning, “I'm ready Daddy.” Yoongi whips his ass a few times with the belt before moving to fasten it snugly around his neck, being sure to leave plenty for him to wrap around his fist and pull on should he need to. “And n-no prep, please. I need your cock too badly to wait. Oh fuck!” He grunts as Yoongi lines himself up and pushes in without warning.

“I wasn't planning on prepping you anyway. You're such a slut for my cock. You take me so well.” He pulls lightly on the belt as his hips snap into Hoseok's, angling just right until he finds the younger's prostate and hits it dead on with every thrust. Moaning and the sounds of skin slapping against skin are all that fill the room as Yoongi speeds up his thrusting, making the younger quiver underneath him.

“Daddy, fuck, fuck, I'm gonna cum!” That's all the warning he can give before he throws his head back and moans, Yoongi forcefully pulling on the belt as Hoseok's cum shoots onto the floor under him, and Yoongi gasps at the feeling of Hoseok clenching around him. It's too much to handle, and he soon feels his pleasure boiling over in the pit of his stomach.

“Fuck... Hoseok... so good...” His hips slam hard into the younger's, nearly pushing him headfirst over the arm of the couch, as he spurts rope after rope of his hot cum deep inside the other, thrusting shallowly a few times to ride out his high. He leans over the younger and places soft, hot kisses all over his back, murmuring “I love you so much, Hobi.”

“I love you too, hyung.” He moans at the sensitivity as the older pulls out of him and stumbles back a step before grabbing some tissues to clean himself and Hoseok, bending to wipe the cum from the floor as well, which makes the younger blush. “And you know, if these rooms weren't just for horny VIPs, I would be totally embarrassed for the staff that has to clean them!” He laughs as he redresses himself.

Yoongi laughs at that as he buckles his belt and buttons up his shirt. “You did cum a lot this time. If we were at home, I would be making you lick it off the floor.” The younger's face turns a deep shade of red, and he stumbles over his words before Yoongi silences him with a kiss, which he immediately melts into. “Shh. It's okay. Now put your belt back on and let's go find our seats. I think the next performance involves sexy men dancing in water.” Hoseok perks up at that, and the two deposit the appropriate amount of money into the hand of the man waiting outside the door before returning to the main area of the club.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hello?” Namjoon calls out into the dim light of the private room.

“Welcome. I've been expecting you.”


	6. V.

“Welcome, I've been expecting you.”

The voice is low, sensual, and saturated with desire. Namjoon feels himself being drawn in as he steps further into the room, which is a bit differently decorated and laid out than he would have expected. The walls are a dark teal, and the floor is covered in plush maroon carpet. There's a King-sized bed against one wall, covered in simple white sheets and a thin but plush teal-and-gold striped blanket and matching pillows. The walls are adorned with picture frames and mirrors in varying sizes, shapes, and shades of wood, and some of the frames have pictures of Seokjin in them; some by himself, and some including who Namjoon assumes are clients and celebrities.

In the center of the room is a chaise lounge a few shades lighter than the walls. On it is perched the dancer with black hair. Seokjin. “You have?” Namjoon raises an eyebrow as he stops and sinks into the matching chair across from the chaise.

“Of course I have. I was actually going to wait until after all of the performances for the evening had finished to come up and talk to you, but luckily, we had a chance to meet sooner.” Seokjin rises fluidly from his seat, and Namjoon takes in his breathtaking appearance, looking at him from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. Seokjin is barefoot, and he's wearing black, loose-fitting pants with rips in the knees. A black v-neck t-shirt is tucked into them, and he has on a jacket that's a mishmash of fabrics differing in texture and pattern. Somehow though, the man makes it work. He is gorgeous, and Namjoon feels a tug on his heart as the other gazes into his eyes. “My name is Seokjin. I don't tell very many people my real name.”

“I wanted to meet you too Seokjin,” he breathes in a low murmur. “I couldn't take my eyes off of you while you were on the stage. You dance and sing more beautifully than anyone I've ever seen.”

“Mmm, thank you. I've been practicing for a number of years now, so I'm very good at what I do.” Namjoon doesn't fail to notice the double meaning behind the younger's words. “May I ask your name?” Seokjin purrs.

“I can tell. It's very rare that I see someone dance quite like you do. I'm sure dancing well isn't the only thing those hips of yours can do.” Namjoon says lowly to the younger, his eyes once again taking in his lithe, muscular body. He's brought out of his thoughts by Seokjin's next words. “Of course, my apologies. My name is Namjoon.”

“Well, Namjoon,” Seokjin says as he settles into the older's lap, “I couldn't take my eyes off of you either. You're very handsome, and I would love to have a chance to show you exactly what these hips of mine can do.”

Namjoon's breath hitches in his throat as he feels the other's body heat against his. “S-Seokjin, um-”

“Don't worry, baby. I'll take good care of you.” Seokjin's crotch presses against Namjoon's, and he rolls his hips in slow, teasing motions, eliciting a soft groan from the older's throat. His hands grip Seokjin's waist, and he allows himself to get lost in the pleasure for a moment before he remembers that this, as good as it feels, is not what he came her for.

“Seokjin. I want to talk to you a bit first.” He flounders for something to say as the other male's skilled hands rub up and down his clothed chest, his fingers tracing over every line, every dip and peak. “Y-you know, I'm a writer.” is the first thing that blurts from Namjoon's lips.

“That's so hot, Namjoon. It means you can whisper dirty words in my ear while we make love.” Seokjin's lips ghost along Namjoon's neck, kissing and licking the sensitive skin, and Namjoon leans his head back, his eyes closing halfway as his fingers dig into Seokjin's waist. 'No, Namjoon, no, maybe if you quote him some of the lyrics of one of your favorite songs...'

“It's a little bit funny,” he murmurs in a rush, thinking he can get Seokjin to listen to words from his heart and stop turning him on so much. Because damn, the man is good at what he's doing.

“Mm, what is baby?” Seokjin asks as he continues his ministrations on the older's neck.

“Uhh, th-this feeling inside. I'm not one of those, who can easily h-hide.”

“You don't have to hide from me, baby. I'll take good care of you.”

Namjoon decides to push on as his fingers travel up the younger's back. “I don't have much money, but boy if I did, I'd buy us a big house where we both could live.”

Seokjin smirks as he reaches between the two of them to palm Namjoon's crotch, and the younger's expert touch elicits a pleasure-filled groan from the older. “I live here love, but you can spend however much money you'd like on me. I certainly won't complain.”

“Fuck Seokjin your hands feel good,” he whispers, but he bites down on the inside of his cheek to force his mind to snap back into focus. “If I were a sculptor, but then again no... or a man who makes potions in a traveling show-”

“You're turning me on so much, Namjoon. I want to make love. Now. Please... hearing this talk of everything you want to do for me is making me so hot.”

Namjoon's thoughts are cloudy, but he tries one more time. “I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do.” All he wants is to convey how he feels about Seokjin. He wants to figure out if this is love, not just lust from the incredible feeling of the younger's hands and lips on his skin. 

“I'm sure that's not all you can do, baby. Or should I call you Daddy?”

Namjoon would love nothing more than to keep going, but he clenches his eyes shut, making a split-second decision to pull out the big guns, as it were. He has to use his amazing singing voice.

“My gift is my song...” Seokjin stops short as Namjoon's beautiful singing voice fills his ears, his eyes widening as he pulls back and looks at the older. “And this one's for you. You can tell everybody that this is your song...” He launches into the song, even though there's no music, and Seokjin moves back onto the chaise to listen to the older sing. 

As Namjoon's song progresses, he watches the look on Seokjin's face change from shock, to awe, to something deeper. Namjoon had never seen that look in anyone else's face before. There's no music playing, but by some miracle, by some weird twist of fate, brought on by a higher power, they both hear in their mind's ear the swell of strings, the lilt of woodwinds, the hum of background vocals, the soft beat of drums, building to a crescendo that brings tears to Seokjin's eyes before it softens and, eventually, fades to silence.

“Namjoon...” he whispers, afraid of speaking too loudly, of losing the tranquility and rawness of the moment they've just shared. They stand to their feet at the same time, and move closer until they're mere inches apart, the only sound in the quiet room their soft breathing. Namjoon's fingers twitch gently at his sides, and Seokjin's lips are slightly parted as they look into each other's eyes, neither making a move, neither saying a single word.

Namjoon nods his head once, and in the next instant, Seokjin's lips are on his in a gentle, desire-filled kiss. They feel soft, and they taste vaguely of strawberries. Namjoon threads his fingers through the younger's hair and tilts his head back to deepen the kiss, pleased when Seokjin complies so easily. The younger's hands slide up Namjoon's sides and hook under his shoulders, drawing him closer.

The two break apart after a few moments, resting their foreheads against each other's, gazing deeply into each other's eyes. “Seokjin, I wanted to tell you something,” Namjoon murmurs, “something I couldn't tell you while you were distracting me like that. Not that I minded the distraction, of course.” He's about to continue when there's a quiet, somewhat awkward knock on the door.

“Seokjin, your time is not up yet, but um, you have another visitor who said she would pay ten times your hourly rate if you ended early.” Namjoon knows that voice. It belongs to Bang SiHyuk.

“Alright, thank you.” Seokjin calls, and then he turns back to Namjoon, a giddy smile on his face, the moment between them gone. “I'm going to make so much money!” he exclaims quietly as he claps, and Namjoon forces a smile to form on his lips.

“I'm happy for you, but I would like to continue this conversation later.” Seokjin nods in agreement, and the older lightly kisses his cheek before leaving the room and softly closing the door behind him, his shoulders hunched slightly as he goes to look for his friends. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Duchess knew that was the right way to get the boy's attention. It's a good thing she had plenty of money to throw around. She had sent her men off to find girls (or guys) to busy themselves with before going to seek out Seokjin. Yoongi had mad her angry, and she was going to take it out on the beautiful dancer. Because, hell, sugar babies are less than human, so why should it matter how she treats him?

She barges past SiHyuk and into Seokjin's private room. Putting on the most alluring look she can muster, she purrs, “Hello, Seokjin. I want you to be mine and only mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this took me forever to publish. I was feeling uninspired v_v


	7. VI.

Seokjin is shocked at first by the Duchess's words, but then, figuring it's some kind of roleplay, he eyes the woman up and down – he's not into women in the least and 95% of his clients are men because they know just how he can be, but he can't deny her beauty – and steps closer to her with a smile. “Anything you like, my Duchess. I would be glad to be yours for this next hour, since you so generously paid a great deal of money to see me.” 

“No no, you don't understand, my dear.” The Duchess steps further into the room, tucking a wayward lock of her dark hair behind her ear, and her fingers find gentle purchase in his hair so he is forced to look into her eyes. He shivers at the coldness of her fingers and the low tone she speaks with next. “I want you to be exclusively bound to me from this night forward.” 

Seokjin is really taken aback this time, and his professional duty prevents him from playing the act of flirtatious submissive. “I-I'm sorry, my dear Duchess, but it does not work that way. It's not possible; that's against the ways of how this club works, and-” his sentence is cut off by a sharp slap to his cheek, the sting bringing tears to his eyes. The Duchess looks at him coldly, all pretenses of seduction and flirtation gone. 

“Don't you dare speak to me that way. You see, I'm one of the most rich and powerful women in all of Korea. I always get what I want, and there has never been an exception to that. I want you to be exclusively mine.” As she's speaking, she slowly backs Seokjin to the bed, and he gasps as the backs of his knees hit the edge. “We can discuss technicalities later, because, after all, I did pay for your time, and excuse me for being so vulgar as I am a lady, but I want you to fuck me. Now.” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Namjoon re-emerges into the main area of the club, and Hoseok immediately runs up to him. “Namjoon, what happened? You don't look like someone who just had mind-blowing sex with a handsome dancer.” Namjoon's shoulders slump as he sinks heavily back into his seat, barely registering the two men onstage doing a dance number to a slow song, with a lot of body rolling and hip thrusting involved. 

“That's because I didn't. We started to, and then I got into my mind that I wanted to sing what I view as one of the most heart-filled love songs I have ever heard, and we had a connection. I don't know how to explain it. We kissed, and I couldn't even begin to describe what I felt when our lips met.” 

“That would be lust, my friend.” Hoseok slings an arm over the man's shoulder, and Yoongi rolls his eyes as he saunters over with a fresh drink in hand. 

“Not everything is about sex and lust,” he drawls as he slides back into his seat with ease. 

“Says the one who just fucked me in one of the VIP rooms!” Hoseok murmurs quietly but loud enough for Namjoon to hear. 

“Whoa, too much information!” Namjoon covers his ears with his hands and wrinkles up his nose. Yoongi laughs, and Hoseok's face turns as red as a tomato as he punches Yoongi's shoulder. After a moment, Namjoon lowers his hands. “Now, can I continue what I was saying, or are you two going to continue being vulgar?” The two other men nod and motion for him continue, and he tells the rest of the story. “Anyway, we kissed for a few moments and as soon as we pulled apart, Mr. Bang knocked on the door, telling Seokjin that there was a guest who was willing to pay ten times his hourly rate for him to end his session early and see her. So I had no choice but to leave.” He leans his head back and sighs. “I'm ready to go back home now.” 

“Hyung, I'm pretty sure that was the Duchess. It's better not to mess with her, but we'll figure something out.” Hoseok nods reassuringly, and the three men stay to watch the rest of the performances before leaving the club for the night.   
*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
“Fuck, Jungkook, not so hard!” Jimin moans as he throws his head back. The younger had only been working for The Pi Ttam Nunmul for two months, but there had been an undeniable attraction between him and Jimin. They'd started dating within a week of knowing each other. Their version of dating, though, is doing some kind of sexual activity with each other at every possible moment. Like right now. They've both finished their performances for the night, so they're taking a moment to satisfy their insatiable lust for each other. Currently, Jimin has his cock shoved down Jungkook's throat. 

"But I love your cock Jimin. I want more of it." The look in Jungkook's eyes is wild as he speaks, and his mouth is back on Jimin's length before the older can reply. He groans in response as he threads his fingers in the younger's hair. 

"I want to fuck your ass though. Now please, stop sucking me before I cum down your pretty throat. I know you, Kookie. I know you want my cum in your ass instead of down your throat." As he speaks, he strokes the younger's cheek, a surprisingly gentle gesture in contrast to the words coming out of his mouth. He moves his hips back and holds Jungkook's head still. "Stand up. Take your pants off." Jungkook quickly obeys, and Jimin smirks as he retrieves a packet of lube from his previously discarded pants pocket. "Prep or no?" His voice lowers considerably as he pulls Jungkook closer and idly lets his hands roam over his torso, purposely brushing over his hardened buds. 

Jimin opens the lube packet with his teeth, already expecting what the younger's answer will be, and isn't disappointed when he says "Mmh~ no prep hyung, you know I like it rough and with an edge of pain." He wraps his arms around Jimin's neck to pull him close, and, gently taking the opened packet of lube from the older's hand, he generously lubes up his thick cock, already moaning in anticipation at what it's going to feel like inside of him. Just when he's bent over and Jimin is about to push into him, Jimin's phone rings with a familiar ringtone. Eyes widening, he reaches over to retrieve it from his pants pocket. His hips roll slowly forward until he's fully seated inside Jungkook, eliciting a pleasure-filled groan from the younger. "Hello?" He answers casually. 

"Hi, Jimin." Taehyung's low velvety voice comes through the other end. "Where are you? I know your night ended half an hour ago, and normally you're home by now." 

"I'm sorry Taehyung-ah, I got a bit preoccupied." With that, he draws his hips back and snaps them hard into Jungkook's, eliciting a loud moan from the younger. 

"Ah, I see." A low chuckle. "I'm guessing his ass was too irresistible?" Jimin groans out his reply as he finds that he can't stop moving in and out of Jungkook. "Save some for me. Or maybe we can have our Jungkook-ah in the middle later. That's something we have yet to try. Or maybe you, Jimin-hyung..." 

"Fuck!" Jimin moans as he thrusts even harder into Jungkook. "Keep talking like that, Tae, and I'm going to abuse poor Jungkook's ass." 

"Does that turn you on, Jimin? Thinking about having my cock in your ass fucking you hard while you thrust mercilessly into Jungkook? The pleasure might just overwhelm you. The mere thought of it might just make you cum inside our dongsaeng right FUCKING now." The last two words come out in short chops, in a tone more commanding than Jimin had ever heard him use. 

"Damn you Taehyung!" Jimin growls as he puts his phone on speaker and sets it on the table beside him. "Jungkook, you're about to get fucking destroyed." He snaps his hips into the younger at an inhuman speed, gripping the younger's waist tightly enough that his fingers will leave bruises. 

"Fuck! Yes!" Jungkook yells out the same two words over and over in a chant when Jimin finds his prostate, and when he tries to grip his cock, Jimin smacks his hand away. 

"No. You're going to cum untouched, but not until I'm finished." Jungkook whines but doesn't touch his cock again and, a few hard thrusts later, he gives one last hard thrust and releases deep inside Jungkook. "You're so fucking tight Kookie," he pants, "so tight for my fucking cock. Do you want me to cum inside you again?" The older speaks between pants. 

"Jimin, so greedy." Taehyung's voice cuts in before Jungkook can answer. "You know he wants it. Just listen to him." As if to emphasize his point, Jungkook whines loudly as Jimin continues to abuse his prostate. "Are you ready to cum right now, baby?" 

"Y-yes Tae" Jimin gasps "s-so close--" At that instant, Jungkook cries out loudly as cum shoots out from the tip of his cock with a force that brings tears to his eyes, and the clenching of his tight heat around Jimin makes him come undone again, growling and digging his nails into the younger's hips as he thrusts shallowly a few times to ride out his high. He pulls out and falls to his knees, panting heavily, and motions for Jungkook to hand him his phone. "Kim Taehyung, you are in so much trouble," Jimin murmurs. 

"I look forward to see how you'll punish me, baby. Clean yourselves up and come home. I'll be waiting." 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

"Thank you for that... Jin, was it? You deserve every single bit of the money I spent on you." The Duchess touches up her makeup, not bothering to look back at Seokjin, who is lying amidst the tangled sheets and staring blankly up at the ceiling. "I'll be back tomorrow. Toodles!" She sings out as she leaves the room and shuts the door with a laugh. The second she's gone, Seokjin rolls over, buries his face in a pillow, and sobs until Junmyeon comes to help clean him up and thus end that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is a bit longer than some of my other chapters. I just... wrote, and kept writing, and I stopped when it felt right to. Thank you for all the support I'm getting so far on this book too! It means so much to me. <3 Please make sure to check out some of my other works too. #shamelesspromo #sorrybae


	8. VII.

Namjoon slept relatively well that night. He felt good about living with Yoongi and Hoseok, and he genuinely thought it would be a good fit for him. He was completely oblivious to what had happened between Seokjin and The Duchess the night before though. He, Yoongi, and Hoseok had no idea that Seokjin had been basically raped at the hands of the vile woman. They were (for the moment) blissfully unaware. It's a good thing Yoongi came up with a damn good plan as they sat up talking into the wee hours of the night. They were going to need it. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Seokjin wakes up feeling sore, tired, and more emotionally drained than he can ever remember feeling. How the hell is he supposed to even consider 'belonging' to the Duchess when she made him feel this way after one session? Even if it was within the guidelines of the club, is he supposed to cast aside his morals and his sense of self so he can let the Duchess treat him like a dog? Being in his line of work is not easy, of course, but no one has ever made him feel the way the Duchess had last night. He's telling all of this to Junmyeon as they sit and have a cup of coffee before starting the day. 

"You have to tell the boss man," Junmyeon says softly, using his affectionate nickname for SiHyuk. 

"I feel like I would be disappointing him if I did," Seokjin sighs, running a hand through his still-messy hair, "and besides, he has a lot going on right now in hiring new dancers. It's a bad time." 

"Seokjin, you're the favorite for a reason." Junmyeon smiles kindly as he pats the other's hand. "He knows everything about your past, he knows the kinds of moods you tend to slip into, and he wants to take care of you, almost as much as I do." His smile falters as he takes a sip of his coffee. "You need to tell him what's going on." 

Seokjin knows Junmyeon is right. Logically, he knows that. But he also knows one of the rules is to never complain about a client, especially one as high-brow as the Duchess. He's about to bring this up to the other when there's a gentle knock on the door frame, accompanied by Bang SiHyuk, clad in a loose grey t-shirt and white linen pants. "Good morning, how are you two today?" He asks, his eyes crinkling up at the corners as he smiles. 

Junmyeon looks at Seokjin, who throws him a pleading look, and he nods once before looking back at their boss. "Seokjin is not doing very well, sunbae-nim. The Duchess was very rough with him last night and practically raped him after telling him she wanted him to be exclusively hers." 

"She also slapped me across the face when I told her that is not how you run your club." Seokjin's voice is small and quiet, and he avoids SiHyuk's penetrating gaze. He feels the man sit next to him, his nostrils being invaded by the harsh combination of the scent of his cologne and cigarette smoke. 

"I will talk to her. Don't worry, Seokjin. I still expect you to cater to her needs, but I will tell her not to mistreat you again." He pats the boy on the shoulder before standing and exiting the room without giving either of them a chance to respond. What was left of Seokjin's resolve breaks, and he mutely goes to his bathroom and locks the door. 

Junmyeon springs from his seat and rushes to the door. "Kim Seokjin! You had better not be doing what I think you're doing in there!" He pounds on the door and doesn't let up until he hears Seokjin's voice from the other side. "Seokjin!!" 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Jimin's phone buzzes, and after reading the message he just received from Junmyeon, his eyes widen and he springs up out of bed, still naked from his time with his boyfriends the night before. "Jungkook, we need to go to The PTN right now." Jimin shakes the youngest awake, or at least he attempts to, because he's currently curled up in Taehyung's arms and refusing to even open his eyes. Thinking quickly, Jimin walks around to the other side of the large bed and leans over the boy to grab and tweak his nipples, which, after making the boy moan quite lewdly, causes him to wake up. 

"Hyung, we don't even have to be there for another two hours," Jungkook grumbles as he smacks Jimin's hands away. Jimin doesn't fail to notice the way he arched into his touch, though. 

"Jungkook, you don't understand! Suho texted me. Seokjin needs us." He grabs his phone and hands it over to Jungkook to read, and after blinking the sleep from his eyes, he does. A moment later, he springs up from the bed as well, disturbing Taehyung in the process, and sprints to the bathroom so he can get dressed. 

"What the fuck is going on?" Taehyung grumbles, his hair sticking out in every direction as he sits up, the sheets pooling around his waist to reveal his chiseled chest and abs. Jimin has to tear his eyes away from the gorgeous specimen of human in front of him so he can concentrate. He picks up his phone that Jungkook carelessly dropped on the bed so he can show the younger, but he holds his hand up. "Read it to me please, hyung." 

"Okay," Jimin rolls his eyes affectionately as he brings the phone closer to his face. 'Jimin, Seokjin was treated terribly by the Duchess last night. She slapped him and practically raped him. He tried to cut himself this morning, but luckily, I stopped him. He's not doing great. We need you and Jungkook here as soon as possible. I don't know if he will be up for performing otherwise.' 

"Shit," Taehyung mumbles. "Is there anything I can do? I love him too – he took me in like a son, no questions asked, when I had no one, and so I want to protect him at all costs." (A/N: Said every ARMY ever--) 

"I don't think so. Maybe pop by to see him? Because if Jin-hyung's mood doesn't improve..." his voice trails off and he gestures vaguely, biting down on his lower lip. 

"I'll see what my schedule is like. Keep me updated either way?" Taehyung smiles, and Jimin nods and leans over to kiss him before he goes off to get dressed and ready as well. Soon, Jimin and Jungkook are out the door and heading for The Pi Ttam Nunmul. They know how Seokjin can get, and they waste no time in going to the club. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

A bit later on that evening, Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok are getting ready to go to The Pi Ttam Nunmul again. Yoongi's plan had worked perfectly. It had involved a rather large payment to the Duchess's limo driver to make him stay away from the hotel and leave his phone turned off, knowing she would never touch public transportation. Just to make doubly sure in case she wouldn't get any ideas though, someone employed by Mr. Min but under the guise of a hotel employee caused an expensive disturbance in the hotel that prevented the Duchess from leaving her rooms. So, she and her men weren't going anywhere that night. 

Yoongi's parents were wealthier than the Duchess, and were willing to do whatever it took to sabotage the Duchess's plans, even if it involved something as seemingly trivial as a dancer at a club. It mattered to Yoongi, so it mattered to them. After sharing a celebratory toast of soju upon hearing the news that their plan had unfolded perfectly, the three housemates practically stumble over themselves in their haste to get ready. 

The previous night had a dress code: formal dresses for the ladies and suits for the men. Tonight, however, is more casual, so Namjoon chooses a black button-down shirt over dark wash jeans. He hears the two other men stop talking in their room, and soon, their conversation is replaced by barely audible moans. Trying to be quiet so as to not disturb them, he moves with the intention to find his shoes. He's so focused though that he doesn't realize they're right beside him, and he ends up tripping over them, landing on his shoulder with a loud thud and a groan. “Shit,” he mumbles. 

 

Upon hearing the sudden noise, Yoongi and Hoseok jump apart and Hoseok removes his hand from the older's pants. “Are you okay, hyung?” the older calls out, his voice a little higher pitched than he'd like. The pair take a moment to calm down their breathing while waiting for him to answer. 

 

“I'm fine! I just- I'm sorry I bothered you!” comes Namjoon's flustered reply. Hoseok covers his mouth to stifle a burst of laughter, and Yoongi plucks him on the forehead. 

 

“You didn't bother us, just try not to break anything!” Yoongi answers, and Hoseok steps close to him again with a smirk. “Hobi, what are you doing? We have to leave soon and- oh fuck...” he moans and tilts his head back as the younger's hand wraps around his shaft again. "You're going to get me worked up and I'm going to have to fuck you senseless." 

"Or maybe you'll let me fuck you, hyung. You've seen how big I am. Have you ever wondered what I would feel like in your ass?" Hoseok's voice is a low murmur. His hand grips Yoongi's cock more firmly and strokes faster, causing a strangled moan to tumble from Yoongi's lips. 

"Namjoon, go on without us. Take Hoseok's car. We'll meet you there!" Yoongi says in a rush before forcibly crashing his lips into the younger's for a heated kiss while pulling him onto their bed. 

"Okay, I'll see you there in a bit!" Namjoon says in reply. He shakes his head in amusement, mostly to get rid of the blush on his cheeks, as he spritzes some cologne on his wrists and collarbone and grabs his phone, wallet, and Hoseok's keys before quietly slipping out of the front door. He feels almost giddy with excitement as he heads to The Pi Ttam Nunmul. Little does he know that his excitement might completely deflate when he gets there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all wouldn't believe how many edits I made to this chapter before I was FINALLY happy with it--


	9. VIII.

"What do you mean you can't come to the phone? What is wrong with you, you incompetent idiot??" The Duchess yells into her phone after calling her limo driver for the eleventh time to confirm that he was picking her up promptly at five o'clock for a small dinner with her latest boy toy. Every time she calls, she gets his voicemail saying 'I'm sorry I can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave a voicemail, I will get back to you swiftly!' She throws her phone onto her bed and, after taking a breath to compose herself, picks up the room's telephone to call down to the front desk. 

"Yes, ma'am, how may I help you?" A chipper female voice answers. 

"Hello, I would like you or some of your little workers to call around and find the cleanest public mode of public transportation for me, so I can be picked up in two hours." She can make this work. She hates public transportation, but she can simply use Baekhyun's jacket as a seat and wear the gloves that make her look like a woman not to be messed with – which, for all intents and purposes, she is. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry, did no one tell you?" 

"Tell me what?" The Duchess asks, trying to keep the sharp edge out of her voice. 

"A health inspector came this morning, and he said there were reports of termites and water damage in the carpet on the first four floors. I am sorry, but until his investigation is completed, no one is allowed to leave their hotel rooms." 

"And when will he be finished?" The Duchess's tone turns cold, and she can almost feel the girl shiver through the phone. 

"Tomorrow morning, at the earliest. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause." The girl speaks in a rush while keeping a polite tone to her voice, and then she says "Please excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." The line goes dead, and the Duchess lets out a growl of frustration before slamming the receiver back down. After taking a moment to collect herself, she rings room service and orders enough food for Baekhyun, Minseok, and her. She settles in to her arm chair then, takes out her tablet, and begins to plan. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Jimin and Jungkook sit and have a long talk with Seokjin. There are tears, hugs, encouraging words, and raw vulnerability exchanged on a deeper level than any of them had ever experienced. At the end of it, Seokjin still doesn't feel like his normal self, so Jimin goes to find his boss. 

"Sunbae-nim, may I talk to you for a moment?" Jimin asks upon timidly knocking on the door frame to SiHyuk's office. 

"Of course, Jimin. Please come in." SiHyuk sets aside the file he was reading and gestures to one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. Jimin settles down into the chair and plucks a lollipop from the jar on the desk. He opens it and, while SiHyuk waits patiently for him to speak, he licks it thoughtfully as he works out exactly what he's going to say. 

"Did Junmyeon-hyung tell you about what happened this morning?" When the older shakes his head no, Jimin lowers his voice and says, "Seokjin-hyung tried to cut himself. Junmyeon stopped him, but he did it in the first place because of how he was treated by the Duchess last night. We – Junmyeon, Jungkook, and I – have been talking to him, and while his mood has improved, he's still not feeling like himself." He sticks the lollipop back in his mouth and mumbles around it, "It was after you told him he still had to cater to the Duchess." 

Sihyuk leans forward and rests his forehead in his hands as he processes Jimin's words. When he looks up next, he's distraught and his eyes are wide. "What have I done?" He asks no one in particular. Finally noticing the younger man again, he nods to him, "Thank you Jimin. I will handle this." When he sees Jimin not budging, he makes a motion with his hand and asks "Was there something else?" 

"Um, yes, can Taehyung come tonight as a guest performer? I have an idea..." Jimin had come up with the inkling of an idea when he was talking with Seokjin, and the final details had fallen into place in his mind when he was talking to SiHyuk. He just hoped it would work. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Namjoon arrives at The Pi Ttam Nunmul before any of the excitement has started. People are settling in with drinks and small trays of simple foods, the footsteps of workers can be heard backstage, the band and string quintet are tuning their instruments and warming up. People are talking and making polite conversation while they wait for the show to start, and Namjoon is about to join in on a conversation about interesting things to do in Seoul when he feels a tap on his shoulder. 

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you. Are you Namjoon?" A man addresses him. He's older, with dark hair, kind eyes, and a soft face. 

"Yes, I am." 

"I'm Kim Junmyeon. I work here, and I'm the caretaker of sorts, for Seokjin as well as most of the other male dancers." Namjoon can't help but smile at the mention of Seokjin's name, but it quickly fades when he takes in the serious look on Junmyeon's face. 

"Has something happened to Seokjin?" 

Junmyeon fidgets and closes and opens his mouth a couple of times before speaking. "Well, sort of." He pulls Namjoon aside and launches into the story of what happened, and he feels his anger slowly building. 

"Then it's a good thing my new housemates and I kept her away for tonight." He tells the older everything about the older plan, and the end of the story brings out Junmyeon's smile. 

"That's marvelous! Seokjin will be very happy to hear that. I've arranged, as well, for you and your friends to have the same seats that you had last night. I think seeing you would make him feel better." 

"Thank you so much, Junmyeon-hyung." 

"Please, call me Suho." 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Pi Ttam Numnul! Tonight, we have a special guest with us. Kim Taehyung is back for a special guest performance!" That brings a cheer from most of the people in the audience, because there are some people there who started coming after Taehyung left. "Yes, yes, it will be very exciting! First, of course, may I present Jin, Jimin, Jungkook, Kai, Lay, and our two newest dancers, Sehun and Jongup, in our signature song, Blood, Sweat, and Tears!" SiHyuk makes a grand sweeping gesture with his arm as the curtain parts, revealing the seven stunningly handsome men onstage. Of course, Namjoon only has eyes for Seokjin. 

As they perform, Seokjin feels slightly withdrawn, even though he knows that the Duchess isn't there. He knows on some level that everyone wants him to completely bounce back, but it's not something that can be done in a mere twenty-four hours. Though he doesn't want to harm himself anymore, he can't shake the dread that he's going to see her again soon. It's not until about halfway through the song when he sees Namjoon sitting there with a look on his face full of admiration and a hint of something else that Seokjin can't quite place while going through the fast-paced and sensual choreography. 

The second the song ends and the dancers are in their ending positions, thunderous applause erupts from the sizable crowd, sending a rush of pride through Seokjin. It makes him feel good when he receives praise and cheers for his beautiful singing and smooth dancing, and hears word of a potential new client or two. He goes backstage to change, only to find a familiar younger boy with a box smile and ethereally beautifully facial features. "Taehyung!!" He exclaims as he throws his arms around the younger's neck, hugging him tightly and holding him close. 

"Hi hyung!" Taehyung's hands cling to Seokjin's waist, and the two men hug for a moment before SiHyuk's voice booms out over the club again. 

"Weren't they wonderful? Sehun and Jongup are not sugar babies as of yet, but aren't they beautiful performers?" Another round of applause, then, "Please take a moment to refresh your drinks and get comfortable, because Jin and V will be on the stage very soon for a special performance!" 

The two know that means they have about five minutes, so they move quickly to put on slightly matching black t-shirts with damask vests – pink for Seokjin and green for Taehyung – before touching up their light makeup, which consists of a light coat of foundation, shimmery powder on their chests, and the barest hint of eyeliner. 

"Ready?" 

"You know it." Taehyung flashes his famous box smile, and Seokjin can sense Jungkook swoon from somewhere beside him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Seokjin registers that Namjoon is in the audience, and he feels excitement and something he can't quite place in the pit of his stomach. Something like butterflies, but so much stronger. The lights backstage flicker from dimmer to brighter a few times, signaling they have thirty seconds to take their places, and after receiving microphones and an encouraging smile from Junmyeon, Seokjin and Taehyung take their places on the stage.


	10. IX.

If Jimin were any more excited about his plan finally coming to fruition, he would be bouncing off the walls of the small backstage area. He watches Seokjin and Taehyung take their places, and he waits in anticipation for the music to start. His plan had been hard to pull off in such a short period of time, but the musicians they employed were amazing and came up with an improvisation for the proposed changes to the song rather quickly and efficiently. 

The lilting violin starts playing, followed by the light piano, then the low cello and the slightest hint of the bass drum. The two men on the stage look momentarily confused until they recognize the tune to be a slower, more classical version of their duet, It's Definitely You. A grin spreads on Taehyung's face as he starts to sing, and Jimin notices Seokjin's eyes widen ever so slightly as his ears turn red. Jimin momentarily wonders why, then he follows Seokjin's gaze to a certain blonde man sitting front and center. 

"Perfect!" Jimin practically squeals as he claps his hands together. 

"What's perfect?" Jungkook asks as he comes up behind him and wraps his arms around his boyfriend's waist, resting his head on his shoulder and planting a soft kiss on the older's neck. 

"Oh, you'll see." Jimin grins as he leans contentedly into his boyfriend's embrace. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Seokjin's heart is racing like it hasn't in years. He has now fully registered that Namjoon is sitting there, waiting expectantly for what will happen next. Seokjin thinks that he'll be somewhat safe, since the song he's performing with Taehyung has a jaunty, upbeat piano melody, but he doesn't expect the slow, almost romantic intro that starts playing. Taehyung's deep voice joins the music, joining in perfect harmony with the melody, and Seokjin feels his ears and face heat up. He quickly composes himself as his turn to sing approaches, and he locks his eyes onto Namjoon's. 

As he sings, something happens between the two men. Seokjin feels his heart starting to let go of what happened to him the night before. He sees the way Namjoon is looking at him – eyes full of admiration, awe, and something else he can't quite place – as he and Taehyung move through their song, and the other's heated gaze makes Seokjin feel warmth spread through his body. No one has ever looked at him that way before. Meanwhile, Namjoon feels a similar warmth that seems to seep down into his bones. It seems like Seokjin is singing only to him; like the two of them are the only people existing in that moment. Namjoon is lost in the moving melody of the song, the deep, meaningful lyrics, the way Seokjin croons into the microphone, hi lips and tongue caressing every single word as if it was a precious gift to be given only to Namjoon. 

When the song is over, Namjoon practically jumps out of his seat with the intention to find Seokjin right now. Luckily, Junmyeon and Jimin are two steps ahead of him and have already arranged for the two men to meet in Seokjin's private suite. The door closes, the lock clicks into place, and the second Namjoon sees Seokjin standing there waiting for him, he steps forward, takes the younger's face in his hands, and presses his lips to his. The kiss is gentle at first, searching, longing, sweet, but it soon turns passionate, desperate, and deep, tongues dancing and hands roaming over skin and pulling at clothes. 

Soon, Seokjin is shirtless and Namjoon's lips and tongue are kissing and gently licking over his skin, paying extra attention to the younger's hardened buds and eliciting the most beautiful moans from him. Namjoon wants to hear more, so he peels his own shirt from his body and tosses it to the floor before reaching his hand into the younger's pants to grip his length, feeling Seokjin stiffen as a breathy moan leaves his perfectly plump lips. His hands rest on Namjoon's biceps to prevent him from pulling away as his lips finds Namjoon's again in a heated attempt to feel more of him, more of his touch, more of everything. Sensing the younger's desperation, Namjoon undoes his belt and pants and pushes them down, groaning in appreciation as he sees his lack of underwear underneath. 

No words are needed as they maneuver onto the bed and get themselves properly prepared. They soon find their rhythm, moving in perfect harmony the likes of which neither of them has ever felt before this moment. Seokjin feels so complete as Namjoon moves inside him and over him, and it's a feeling the younger never wants to forget. They come undone together, clutching each other, hands intertwined, breathing and soft moans mingling in the otherwise quiet room, and Namjoon cleans them up then lies down and opens his arms for Seokjin to gratefully crawl into. After a few moments of quiet breathing, Seokjin sniffles, and Namjoon feels tears pooling on his chest. 

"Seokjin? What's the matter?" Namjoon asks worriedly as he gently hooks his fingers under the younger's chin, rubbing circles into the skin as he waits for him to look up at him, his beautiful brown eyes brimming with tears. 

"Nothing is wrong, Joonie." Namjoon's heart swells at the nickname Seokjin calls him, and even more at the younger's next words, "That was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. Thank you." 

Namjoon smiles warmly as he kisses Seokjin softly on the lips, lingering for just a moment before slowly breaking their kiss. "I want you to feel safe and protected, and I promise you, that even if we only meet here one or two nights a week, you will always feel that way with me. Always." 

"You have no idea how much that means to me." Seokjin's voice is a choked whisper as more tears flow down his ruddy cheeks. Namjoon kisses every single one away. 

"There's no need for any more words. Just let me hold you for as long as I can." Seokjin rests his head in the crook of Namjoon's neck, and the older wraps his arms more securely around him as they rest and enjoy the simplicity of each other's company and a new bond that has been formed to hopefully never be broken. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

"Minseok, come here please." The Duchess's syrupy sweet voice calls out to the male across the room, and he dutifully walks to her, hands folded in front of him as he bows and awaits whatever she will tell or ask him. "I've gotten you a new job. You're going to work at The Pi Ttam Nunmul and spy on the goings-on of Jin's life and report them to me. You start tomorrow." She waves him off with a dismissive gesture of her hand. "Now draw a bath for me. I'm tired, and Baekhyun really worked me over tonight." She looks almost sweet and girlish as she says this, but Minseok sees past it. He merely bows again and goes off to carry out her orders, drawing her bath with her favorite scents and oils. 

In his heart, Minseok knows that working for the Duchess is wrong. His parents basically forced him into it because of some debt they had to pay. He didn't have it as badly as Baekhyun did, though; Minseok has never been called into the Duchess's bed in the two years he had been working for her. He counts himself lucky but would never admit that to anyone. He hates the Duchess. Baekhyun is like her little lap dog. Minseok knows better than to cross her, and he still has the very light burn marks on his arm from when he learned that the hard way. 

He just has to keep his head down and do what she says. He'll work at The Pi Ttam Nunmul, sure, but he knows how to play it so that whatever he tells the Duchess is untrue. He's her most trusted lackey, which is ironic in a way, because he never tells her the truth. He'd been in on Yoongi and Hoseok's plan to keep her in her hotel room, and he was happy to go along with it. He has to bide his time until his parents' debt is paid off, and his close friendship with Hoseok helps time go more quickly. Until then, he's more than glad to keep her away from Seokjin, but she's a powerful woman and, in the end, she always gets her way.


	11. X.

Yoongi and Hoseok never made it to The Pi Ttam Nunmul that night. After Namjoon left, Hoseok slammed Yoongi against the wall and proceeded to litter his neck and chest with love bites that would make it known that the older belonged to him and only him. It only escalated from there, resulting in Yoongi getting fucked in the ass for the first time in his life, and he loved every second, even though he wasn't able to move at all after they were finished. Hoseok held him close, and they stayed in bed for hours, drawing soothing invisible circles in each other's skin and murmuring hushed words of love, reassurance, and praise to each other.

“I'm home!” Namjoon's voice booms through the house.

“We're in here, hyung!” Hoseok calls out as he pulls the blankets up to cover their exposed chests. “Come and tell us how tonight went!” When their hyung walks into the room, he's grinning from ear to ear and his eyes have a far-off, dazed look in them. “Ah, you finally had sex.” Hoseok chuckles when Namjoon turns red from his neck to his ears.

“It was more than just sex, Hoseok-ah. He and another young man, I believe his name was Taehyung, performed a duet onstage, and it was a love song. I felt like every word Seokjin was singing, was directly to me, and something sparked between us that I can't explain. Then, I went back to his private suite – because apprently Junmyeon-hyung had arranged for it – and we made love. It was the most amazing experience of my life.”

When he finishes speaking, Yoongi sits up, his dark red hair sticking out in all directions and a lazy, tired smile on his face as he holds the blanket over himself. He looks small and precious, and when he speaks, his voice is soft and filled with sleep. “I'm glad, hyung. All four of us had an amazing night, then. I think we should sleep, though.” He falls gently back into Hoseok's chest, making the younger chuckle as he wraps his arms around him.

“I'm happy for you too, Namjoon-hyung. We won't be able to keep the Duchess away forever, but when she is not there, I hope you're able to have as much awesome sex as possible.” His sentence is punctuated with a heavy yawn as his eyes droop closed, and Namjoon's protests saying that it's more than just sex are effectively cut off.

He nods as he rises from the bed. “Goodnight, then.” As he quietly makes his way to his room, thoughts from that night fill his mind, and that night, he sleeps better than he has in months.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When the Duchess wakes up the next day, she feels rested and hopeful. She has a perfect plan in place to assuage Jin's fear of her, and she has everything she needs to carry it out. Employing Minseok at The Pi Ttam Nunmul was the last piece of the puzzle, and it had been easy enough to get him a position as a co-caretaker/mental carer when SiHyuk opened up about needing someone else alongside his other one, because the more dancers he hired, the more the other was being stretched thin. The Duchess had used her soothing voice and overflowing wallet to get her way, and after everything was confirmed, she knew she was one step closer to being able to call Jin her own. She just needed to wait until the matinee performances started at the club to see him again. Until then, she could occupy herself with the gorgeous man in bed next to her.

“Oh, Baekhyun...” she hums, and she smiles sweetly when he opens his eyes and moves in to kiss her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Minseok puts on his best suit – black with a gray silk shirt and gray-and-purple striped tie, all tailored exactly to fit him – and styles his black hair to look done but tousled. Baekhyun and the Duchess are still in bed, so Minseok leaves a note saying he's headed to The Pi Ttam Nunmul early and retrieves his phone, wallet, and room key before quietly leaving the room, chuckling to himself as he sees a few half-assed attempts to make it look like an investigation had happened the night before. He points out a few ways to make it look more convincing as he makes his way outside and hails a taxi, because he knows the public transportation in Seoul can be very clean if one knows where to look.

“Where to, sir?” the driver asks in a tone far too chipper for a Sunday morning.

“The Pi Ttam Nunmul, please.” Minseok settles back into his seat and adds, “I got a job there, and today is my first day.”

“Ah, that's exciting! Mr. Bang always hires the best dancers.”

“I'm not a dancer, actually. I'm going to be a caretaker alongside Kim Junmyeon for the male dancers.”

“My apologies for assuming you were a dancer. I didn't think he was hiring another caretaker, though.”

“It's quite alright. He wasn't, but, you see, I work for the Duchess, and she got me the job.” He senses the driver tense at the mention of her name, and he adds, “My parents have a debt to her to pay off, and I am helping with that by working for her.” He chooses his words carefully, in case the driver is another one of her lackeys. He'd learned early on that they are everywhere.

“I wish you the best of luck then, sir. I hear the men there can be a bit of a handful.” He chuckles heartily, and Minseok can't help but smile back.

“I've been helping to care for the Duchess for years, so hopefully that experience will help me here.”

“I'm sure it will. Here we are, and please do enjoy your day.” Minseok thanks him and hands over the required money before exiting the vehicle and heading into the club, already formulating in his mind the lies that he's going to come up with to tell the Duchess.

“Hello, you must be Minseok!” An older man greets him upon entering the building. “I am Junmyeon. It is a pleasure to formally meet you.”

“Yes, hello Junmyeon, it is very nice to meet you as well.” The two bow to each other in a show of respect then shake hands before Junmyeon gives him a tour of the club and a rundown of his responsibilities. When they've finished, Jumyeon turns to the younger.

“There's one last thing. I hear that you are also employed by the Duchess. I will tell you right now, and this is not a threat, but you had better not do anything to hurt anyone here.”

“Well, about that...” Minseok glances around to make sure no one is within earshot before laying out his true intentions to Junmyeon. He's just finished when they are joined by Seokjin and Jimin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“It was amazing, Jimin!” Seokjin is still smiling giddily from the night before as he relays everything to his dongsaengs for the fourth time.

“Hyung, I have something to tell you.” Jimin stops in the middle of texting Jungkook to see when he should pick him up, and his words stop the older's tirade.

“What is it, Jimin?”

“I planned everything. The slower version of the song, Taehyung coming to sing with you, and then the two of you meeting in your suite. I wanted you to have a night you wouldn't soon forget, because of what the Duchess did to you. If she continues to be a presence at the club, then maybe Namjoon-hyung can be a light to you.”

“Junmyeon-hyung said the same thing,” Seokjin smiles as he pulls the younger boy into a tender embrace. “Thank you, Jimin.”

“You're welcome, hyung. I would do anything for you.” The two men hug for a moment longer before pulling away. “Now let's go greet our new co-caretaker.” Seokjin nods in agreement as they go to greet the man who is talking with Junmyeon.

“Seokjin, Jimin, this is Kim Minseok. He is going to be working alongside me to take care of you boys.” He affectionately ruffles Jimin's hair, making him giggle.

“It is a pleasure to meet you both.” Minseok bows to them, and they return the gesture. “I am employed by the Duchess, but that does not mean that I will not do whatever I can to protect you and take care of you.” Upon hearing that, Seokjin's eyes widen and he motions for Junmyeon to join him a bit further down the hallway.

“Hyung, he said he works for the Duchess. Why would our sunbae-nim allow him to work here?” Seokjin feels his panic levels rising, and he speaks in a rush, “He can't be trusted. He just can't. Plain and simple. He'll spy on us and report everything to her and she'll use it to hurt us in some way, especially me, because she certainly had no problem doing it the other night. I can't handle another repeat of the other night, because then, nothing will stop me from making new scars.” He's in tears now, and before Junmyeon can respond, he runs to his room and closes the door.


	12. XI.

Minseok watches as Junmyeon goes after Seokjin, and he rakes a hand through his hair before looking back at Jimin. “May I explain something?” he timidly asks the younger. When Jimin nods, he continues, “I'm not as loyal to the Duchess as I appear to be. She used her wallet and her influence to get me a job here so I could spy on Seokjin, but everything I report to her will be false. I will come up with something to tell her, to make it clear that he is not someone she can have. If she still is not deterred, then I don't know what I can do beyond that.”

Jimin mulls Minseok's words over in his mind for a few moments. He's not totally sure if he's lying, or if he's actually telling the truth. “How do I know you're telling the truth? For all I know, you could be testing me to see if I speak ill of her.”

“I know you have no reason to believe me. Give me a chance to prove myself. At the end of today, I'll tell her something like his favorite color is pink so she brings him a pink gift and he hates it.”

“Um, there's one problem with that. His favorite color actually IS pink!” Jimin laughs, and after a moment, Minseok joins him with a nervous chuckle.

“I guess I'll need a better plan, then. Perhaps you can help me think of something?” He checks his watch for the time, and twists his mouth in a slight frown. “Well, maybe after I do the morning routine Junmyeon gave me.”

“That's it!” Jimin says.

“What's it?” Minseok asks as he picks up Jongin's clothing and walks towards the dressing room he shares with Yixing.

“Lie about his routine. Make it sound like he doesn't have any time for her, except for one night a week. That way, she'll realize that there isn't any possible way that he can 'belong' to her.”

“She'll just use her money and influence to clear his schedule.”

“She can't if you tell her he has other high-paying clients and important vocal warmups and dance practices.”

“Ah, I like the way you think!” Minseok claps Jimin on the back as he hands off Jongin's garment bag to him with a short introduction and a bow, and the two men go their separate ways so that Minseok can carry out his next task and Jimin can return his missed call from Taehyung.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Jimin, you need to get home now.” Taehyung's voice is husky and slightly strangled, and Jimin knows exactly what that means. He's either fucking Jungkook, or having his cock sucked by said boy.

“Let me see if I can get away.” He goes off in a rush to find SiHyuk, and he holds his phone behind his back as he approaches him. “Sunbae-nim, I have a couple of errands to run. Is it alright if I go take care of them now? We have a few hours before the show, and I can do my vocal warmups while I'm in the car.”

“Yes, very well. Please make sure you're back on time.” Jimin is about to respond when SiHyuk's phone rings, and he waves to Jimin before walking off to answer it.

“Thank you!” he calls after SiHyuk before bringing his phone back to his ear and saying, “I'll be there in fifteen minutes.” He hears a muffled 'hurry up' from the other end of the phone, and he bites his lip to muffle a sudden soft groan of desire as he flees out the door and to his car. He's pulling up to his house within minutes, and he walks in unannounced, following the moaning and gasping noises to the bedroom as he sheds his clothes quickly. “I'm home.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Namjoon-hyung, we should go out to eat before going to The Pi Ttam Nunmul. There's a really good restaurant in downtown Seoul that I think you'll love.” Hoseok smiles brightly as he finishes buttoning his white shirt and pulls it down over his hips. He and Yoongi had stayed in bed for a good chunk of the morning, and they were both pretty hungry since they'd skipped breakfast.

“Sounds good, Hoseok-ah. If we leave right now, then maybe I can scout some potential job opportunities along the way.” With that, the men grab their jackets and things they'll need, and then they head out the door, a sleepy Yoongi trailing behind them and grumbling about how he'd rather stay in bed.

Namjoon is able to receive different applications and application information from five different places, all centered around writing and/or editing, and they're walking back to Yoongi's car to go eat, Namjoon talking his friends' ears off about what an amazing opportunity and chance to improve his skills one of the places would be, when he spots a familiar dark-haired figure walking their direction. He stops in his tracks and mumbles for the other two to wait a moment, when the person finally sees them and stops in his tracks.

“Hello, father.”

“Namjoon, I can't say it's a pleasure, but hello.” Mr. Kim looks around his son's shoulder to the two men behind him, and he scoffs, “Are these your... boyfriends?” It appears as if he gags while he says the last word, but he quickly composes himself.

“You know as well as I do that these are my roommates. I showed you pictures of them, and if you had cared enough to pay attention, you would know that.”

“Look, what you do behind closed doors is none of my business. I don't know how all of this works, nor do I care to. If you will excuse me, I have a very important business meeting to attend to. Goodbye, Namjoon.” He brushes past him without another word, and Namjoon looks behind him to see his father walking into a large building and embracing a pretty woman who is definitely not his mother.

“That scumbag!” His face twists up in disgust as he pulls out his phone to snap a few quick pictures then slips it back into his pocket. Looking back at Yoongi and Hoseok, his face relaxes, and he sighs. “I'm sorry about that.”

“You told us your father was mean to you, but I never imagined it was that bad.” Yoongi rubs the older's shoulder in sympathy, and he adds, “just remember though, no one is as savage as I am. You need me to do something to him, let me know, and I will handle it.”

“Thank you, Yoongi-yah. Let's take care of it later. I want to try to get in a better mood before I see Seokjin again, and I think eating a good meal will help with that.” The other two agree with him, and they pile in to Yoongi's car to drive the short distance to the restaurant.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Aren't you guys going to be late?” Jimin currently has his cock in Jungkook's ass for the second time that day, and Taehyung is on his way to take a shower when he checks his phone. “It's already one o'clock, and you have to be there in twenty minutes.”

“Shit, yeah, I'm almost done. Cum Jungkookie, cum now, or we will both make sure you don't have an orgasm by our doing or your own for a fucking week.” He pounds into the younger harder than before, and with a high-pitched moan, Jungkook cums onto his stomach and chest, flinching when some even hits his chin, and Jimin follows soon after, pulling out just in time to cum on Jungkook's chest as well, panting heavily as he pumps his cock to milk himself of every drop. Stopping short of collapsing on top of the younger, he hands him some tissues to clean up and leans over to kiss him on the lips. “So good, Kookie. I can't get enough of your ass.” 

Jimin chuckles as he cleans himself up as well, and after running past Taehyung (who, of course, had to stay and watch the two finish) to take a quick shower, he gets redressed and pulls a half-dressed Jungkook to the car with him. Right when they pull up, they see an all too familiar limo and two all too familiar figures emerging from the backseat of it. “Shit.”


	13. XII.

Jimin runs into the club, followed by Jungkook who's limping only slightly, and immediately starts looking for Seokjin. He finds him in the dancers' lounge, eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries, and having a murmured conversation with Junmyeon. “Excuse me hyungs,” Jimin says with a bow. “The Duchess is here.”

“Already?” Junmyeon jumps out of his seat, and Seokjin's eyes widen in panic as his bowl nearly slips out of his hands. Junmyeon manages to catch it and sets it aside, and then he looks back at Jimin. “Have you seen Namjoon? Is he here?”

“No hyung, I haven't seen him. I just don't understand why the Duchess is here. We don't even start the performances for another hour and a half.”

“Who knows? The damned woman has enough money that for all we know, she paid for time with our Seokjin outside of business hours.” He turns back to a wide-eyed Seokjin who appears to have stopped breathing. Junmyeon sits down next to him and takes his hands. “Come with me. I'm going to take you to your room, and Jimin is going to find out what the Duchess wants. Jungkook, come with me.” The maknae, who just walked in, nods immediately and slings Seokjin's arm over his shoulder as he helps him to his room.

“What can we do?” Yixing asks as he and Jongin walk in, looking sweaty as a result of an intensive dance practice.

“Ah, go tell our sunbae-nim. Jongin, you go find Minseok and tell him, please.” The two men nod and walk off to do what Junmyeon told them to do. Turning his attention back to Seokjin, he murmurs, “come on. Nice and easy. Let's go the back way.” He walks a bit ahead and opens a secret passageway in the wall, and he, Seokjin, and Jungkook pass through it, reaching Seokjin's private chambers within moments. Minseok is waiting within.

“I hear the Duchess is here.” He wrinkles his nose up in disgust, and his head shakes slowly from side to side. “Junmyeon-hyung told me what she did. I am so, so sorry, Seokjin.” He keeps his distance as Junmyeon helps the sugar baby onto the sofa and hands him a glass of water, which he clutches in his hands so tightly that the glass cracks, and Junmyeon quickly takes the glass back. Minseok sits a safe distance away and says softly, “I am not as loyal to her as I appear to be.” Finally, Seokjin seems to break out of his trance as his head swivels around so he is looking directly at Minseok.

“What do you mean?”

“I only work for her to pay off my parents' debt. It's been years, and with each passing day, I grow to hate her more. She got me a job here so I could spy on you, but I promise, I will not do that. Is there anything I can do to help you see that? I don't want you hurt.”

“There is nothing right now. Just show me that you are true to your word. Until then, I am not sure that I can trust you.”

“Of course. I completely understand.” Jimin bursts into the room, wild-eyed.

“She is here, she wants to see Jin-hyung alone right now, and she won't take no for an answer.”

“Damn her,” Minseok growls. “Seokjin, as much as I hate to say this, it might be better for you to go.”

Seokjin silently rises from the couch and smoths down his striped t-shirt that looks his shoulders look even wider than they are. “Alright. Junmyeon-hyung, will you please walk with me?” Looking to Minseok, he adds, “And will you please make sure that the outfit change for my third act has been noted and the proper clothes are brought to my dressing room?”

“Of course. Everything will be waiting for you by the time you get back.” Minseok quickly exits the room, and Junmyeon walks to Seokjin's side, rubbing his back reassuringly. Jungkook and Jimin offer words of encouragement as they walk to their own dressing rooms.

“Are you ready?”

“No, but I have to appear like I am. After all, I am a professional.” Seokjin looks at Junmyeon, who gives him a small smile before standing aside so Seokjin can enter his suite, where the Duchess is waiting for him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Oh thank God you're here!” Jimin runs out to greet Namjoon, Hoseok, and Yoongi, who decided to arrive at the club a bit early to get good seats.

“Hello, Jimin-ah. Is something wrong?” Yoongi looks concerned as he gives the younger's shoulder a slightly awkward pat.

“The Duchess is here and speaking with Jin-hyung right now. They've been in his suite for the last hour.” Namjoon, still slightly on edge from the encounter with his father earlier, tenses up and his face contorts into a scowl.

“Is there anything we can do?” Hoseok asks, eager to help wherever it's needed.

“Sadly no, except wait for him in his dressing room. Please, come with me.” Jimin leads the three men to Seokjin's dressing room, and then he goes off to see that their seats are reserved for the show.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Jin! Thank you so, so much for seeing me.” The Duchess is sitting on Seokjin's chaise lounge, wearing a baby pink tea-length dress with cap sleeves and diamond detailing on the sweetheart neckline. She rises from her seat, and the skirt on her dress moves with her as she approaches him, her hands held out in supplication. “I treated you horribly the other night, and I have been wracked with grief and regret ever since then. I thought you liked rough treatment, and so I went with my instincts.” She sinks to her knees in front of him and folds her hands in her lap, her light, shimmery makeup making her skin look delicate, like porcelain, as she gazes up at him with her wide brown eyes. “I will never do that to you again. Please believe me.”

Seokjin stares down at her for a few long moments, neither of them speaking. This was a complete turnaround from the Duchess he had seen the other night. She seems genuine in her words and her actions, and he has never had a woman on her knees in front of him before. He's about to speak when she reaches behind her and unzips her dress, pulling her arms out of it and letting it slip from her petite form as she rises to a standing position, the dress pooling around her feet, as she stands completely naked in front of him. If Seokjin were straight, he would already be aroused, but she doesn't have a dick, and so she doesn't do anything for him.

“Dear Duchess, you are very beautiful, but you know that I am not interested in women.”

“I thought you would say as much. Luckily, I bave someone with me that you might be more attracted to.” She snaps her fingers once, and her other man servant, whom Seokjin hadn't caught the name of, steps out from the wardrobe, wearing nothing but a pair of black slacks and unbuttoned gray shirt. “This is Baekhyun. Perhaps he might pique your interests?” She puts her dress back on, a soft smile curling up the corners of her mouth. “Jin, if you won't sleep with me, then Baekhyun would be happy to fulfill any physical needs you may have.”

The Duchess reclaims her seat on the chaise lounge, and Baekhyun steps in front of Seokjin, his darkly lined eyes hooded with desire and a smirk on his full lips, his dark hair streaked with red making him look like a demon that is not to be messed with. Baekhyun's hands come to rest on the other man's slender hips, and he murmurs, “I can make you feel very good, Jin.”

Seokjin's heart starts beating faster, and he looks at the Duchess, his erection beginning to strain against his pants as he says, “Duchess, are you sure?”

“Yes, Jin, I am. All I ask in return is that I watch the two of you every time. And, of course, I will pay you five times your usual rate. You will be free to sleep with Baekhyun any time you wish. I will make sure of it, and you will be paid every time.”

That is all Seokjin needs to hear. He wraps his arms around Baekhyun's neck so their lips can crash together in a hot, sloppy kiss. They stumble over to the bed, and the Duchess idly plays with herself as she watches the two men engage in what is probably the hottest sex she's ever seen. She has Jin right where she wants him. Now she just needs to get that tall, blonde, stumbling, annoying oaf of a human being out of the way, and Jin will truly be hers.


	14. XIII.

Taehyung has a unique ability to strongly be able to tell when something is wrong, and he feels a swell of dread in the pit of his stomach at about the same time Seokjin finishes up his session with Baekhyun and the Duchess. He doesn't know exactly what's happened, though; only that he has to call someone and see if anything's wrong. He reaches for his phone, his bowl of cereal and his movie completely forgotten, and dials Jungkook.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Jungkookie. Is everything all right down there?”

“Hi hyung. I'm not sure.”

“What do you mean you're not sure? What happened, Kookie?”

“The Duchess and her man servant arrived a little while ago, and they are in Seokjin's suite. Oh, wait, they're coming out.” Taehyung hears a light shuffling noise, and then, “Hi, hyung! How did it go with the Duchess?”

“Oh, Jungkook! It was amazing! The Duchess has promised me that I can have sex with Baekhyun whenever I want, as long as she gets to watch of course, and every time, I'll get paid five times my hourly rate! Oh I'm so happy, I'm going to have so much money! I have to go tell our sunbae-nim!” Seokjin is practically yelling by the time he's finished talking, and Taehyung hears running footsteps getting quieter as he assumes Seokjin runs down the hall.

“Shit. Hyung, this isn't good.” Jungkook says as he brings the phone back to his ear. “Did you hear any of that?”

“Yeah. I heard all of it. Go warn Namjoon-hyung, please. And keep me updated.”

“Okay. I will. I have to go, because I also have to get ready for the first performance that's starting soon. I'll see you tonight. I love you.”

“I love you too, Jungkookie.” The line goes dead, and Taehyung sits back on the couch, chewing on his lower lip. He sends Jimin a text summarizing what had happened on the phone with Jungkook, and then, deciding he can't just sit around and do nothing, goes to get ready to head to the club.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yoongi and Namjoon are in the middle of a heated discussion about the merits of the right words or lyrics that make a story or song flow perfectly, with Hoseok of course trying to distract Yoongi, when Seokjin bursts into the room, jumping when he sees the three men lounging on his sofa.

“Oh, Namjoon-hyung, Yoongi-hyung, Hoseok-ah, I didn't know you were coming! Hello!” He bows quickly but deeply, and then he makes his way to the garment bags that had been delivered while he was indisposed. Jungkook comes running down the hallway but stops short of Seokjin's room as he hears him start rambling about what had just happened with Baekhyun and the Duchess. He curses under his breath and goes to find Minseok.

“I just can't believe it! She was so kind and understanding, and somehow, I knew that that's her true nature, and she won't hurt me like she did the other night. She promised me that she wouldn't, and I always hold people to their promises. And the sex with Baekhyun, oh my God, that man can move his hips!” Seokjin pauses so he can fan himself with an old flyer on his desk, and it's only then that he notices that none of the other three have said a word. “Is something wrong? I know I talk a lot, but you can tell me, you know.”

“I think I speak for Namjoon-hyung and Yoongi-hyung when I say we do not trust her at all, and we're worried. What if this is just a ploy to have you wrapped around her little finger?”

“I'm a bit worried about that too, because I've seen how people can change in the blink of an eye, but I'm going to be getting sex as often as I want it, and money on top of that! This is seriously one of the best days I've had in a long time!”

“Excuse me, please.” Namjoon rises from his seat and exits the room, but Seokjin hardly notices as he continues getting dressed.

“What about Namjoon?” Yoongi asks when the older is out of earshot. “Did you think about how this would affect him? He likes you a lot, Jin-ah. I wish you could have seen the way he was smiling when he came home last night. He looked like he'd just won the lottery, and he said it was the most amazing experience of his life.” At Yoongi's words, Seokjin immediately deflates, and he sinks into the gilded pink chair in front of his vanity.

“I wasn't even thinking clearly. What have I done?”

“Did you agree to be exclusively hers, or whatever it was that she wanted?”

“Not yet. She said she was going to talk to sunbae-nim about drawing up a contract.”

“Then we need to stop her.”

“I'm already on it!” Taehyung runs by the room, followed by Jimin, and Jungkook pokes his head in.

“Where is Namjoon-hyung?”

“I don't know. I'll go find him. Hoseok-ah, please stay with Seokjin.” Hoseok nods as everyone else leaves the room, and he turns to face a distraught Seokjin.

“You said that sugar babies exclusively belonging to one person is against the club's guidelines, right?” Seokjin nods, and Hoseok continues, “Maybe all hope isn't lost.”

“I think I can help.” Minseok quietly walks in, and he sits on the couch next to Hoseok, still keeping a cautious distance from Seokjin because he doesn't want to anger or startle him. “The Duchess is very good at bending people to her will and using them to get her way. To her, people are less than human. In her eyes, they are merely tools to get her what she wants, whether it's money, sex, drugs, or attention.”

“So how will that help us?”

“Well, you see...” Minseok leans forward and motions for Hoseok and Seokjin to do the same. “I've already told Taehyung and Jimin what to say to your- um, our boss, and I'm still gathering my thoughts on things we can do. But, Seokjin, one thing you can do is demand twenty times your hourly rate for encounters with Baekhyun, and you can demand money from her to spend extra time with the both of them.”

“But she has endless money. She'll be able to pay me whatever I ask of her. It's not that I feel bad about taking her money, because I don't, but she'll be all too happy to lavish money on me. She said as much when we were talking in my suite.”

“I happen to have it on good authority that she doesn't have as much money as she did a year ago. It's slowly running out because her mother is cutting her off, her benefactors are abandoning her, and her title was bought for her. She also has obscene shopping habits and loves to spoil Baekhyun and whichever new man or woman she brings to her bed every week. I'm the one she leaves to handle her money and her accounts, because she knows that I won't mess with it like Baekhyun would, so that's how I know.”

“Well, it is a pretty good start.”

He's about to say more when Yoongi walks into the room with Namjoon. Seokjin immediately runs into his arms and hugs him tightly. “Joonie, I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking.” Namjoon wraps his arms protectively around the younger and murmurs soft words into his ear, making him blush.

“Um, I hate to be that person, but shouldn't you be getting ready to perform?” Minseok asks after glancing at his watch. “It's ten minutes until the start of the first performance.”

“Yixing and Jongin are first, followed by the women. I just need a minute.” Seokjin's words are muffled against Namjoon's neck, and he doesn't budge. Namjoon smiles as he tilts Seokjin's face towards his so he can kiss him, not caring that they aren't alone. Yoongi and Hoseok quietly leave, and Minseok moves just outside the door.

A moment later, Jimin and Taehyung come running up to him. Pulling him into Seokjin's dressing room, not failing to notice that Seokjin and Namjoon are still making out, Jimin whispers, “Hyung, it worked! Sunbae-nim listened to Taehyung's points about what losing Seokjin-hyung would mean for his income and business and accepted that he could not let him go.”

“And then the Duchess agreed to back off about the contract or whatever, but she looked really pissed off. I'm scared she might try something.”

“She probably will. We have to do everything to protect Seokjin today.”

“I agree.” Taehyung pipes up.

“Me too.” Namjoon has his arms wrapped around Seokjin's waist. “I don't want that woman or her man servant to lay a finger on my Jinnie ever again.” Seokjin blushes and hides his face in the crook of Namjoon's neck, and Jimin smiles watching them before glancing at his phone.

“Shit, guys, we have to get ready. We go on in fifteen minutes.”

“Oh my God!” Seokjin runs out of the the room saying something about a quick shower, and Namjoon and Hoseok leave the room along with Yoongi, who's been silent this whole time.

“Hyung, you've been quiet. What's wrong?” Hoseok asks with concern.

Yoongi sighs. “I hate the Duchess. I've been thinking of how we can stop her for good. Make it so she never hurts anyone again.”

“You don't mean...” Yoongi just smiles in return and doesn't say another word.


	15. XIV.

Thankfully, Seokjin has a few extra minutes to get ready while the stage is mopped up due to a small mishap with water getting out of the shallow pool built into the stage during Sehun, Yixing, and Jongin's performance of One And Only. The performance was beautiful though, and Seokjin swore he could feel the screams of the young women in the audience at seeing the three men in wet see-through shirts. He's putting the finishing touches on his makeup when there's a light knock on his door.

“Come in,” he calls softly. The door opens to reveal a smiling Namjoon. “Hi! I thought you would have been in your seat already?” Seokjin rises from his seat and puts on his black blazer that's emblazoned with varying shades of silver and gray sequins. With his raven black hair styled just right and his eye makeup done to give a smoky and dreamy effect, his appearance alone takes Namjoon's breath away. It takes him a moment before he can speak.

“Junmyeon-hyung told me that this is your first time performing a song you wrote by yourself, and it's also the first time unveiling the special stage to the public. I thought you might be nervous, and so I wanted to come make sure you were alright.” He brings something out from behind his back, and when Seokjin sees that it's a single white lily whose root is wrapped in foil, he breaks into a smile that makes Namjoon's heart swell.

Seokjin takes the flower and gently brings it to his nose so he can smell it, and he closes his eyes a moment, feeling Namjoon's presence draw closer to him, and he opens his eyes to see the older smiling down at him. “I'm much better now, Joonie. Thank you.” He puts the lily in a glass of water on his vanity and wraps his arms around Namjoon, hugging him tenderly, and Namjoon returns the gesture, placing a kiss on his lover's forehead. There's a soft ding, and Seokjin recognizes that as his cue. “I have to go onstage now. Pleasehurry to your seat so you can see everything.”

“Okay, love. I can't wait to see you perform.” He smiles warmly and gives Seokjin's hand a reassuring squeeze. “You're going to be amazing.” He nods and exits the room, and Seokjin tries to control the blush on his face, neck, and ears. Minseokpokes his head in.

“You need to go on now, please.” He looks like he's about to say something else, but seeing the happy look on Seokjin's face, he simply smiles in return.

“Yes, I'm coming. Will you please take care of my flower from Joonie?” Minseok nods and pats his shoulder as he walks by. With a deep breath, Seokjin makes his way to the stage and takes his place. Only then does the gentle string music start playing, setting the mood as the lights dim and he turns on his microphone. The stirng music transitions into the introduction of his song, and the curtain opens. Seokjin seeks out Namjoon first, feeling relieved, but it's fleeting when he sees the Duchess in the next chair over, her eyebrow raised expectantly.

Seokjin decides to focus on Namjoon as he begins to sing. His voice is soft but steady, and it builds as the music does. As he transitions into the chorus, the section of the stage he's on begins to rise, as do the four sections on either side of him that the accompanying musicians are sitting on. His is the highest, and he sings passionately into his microphone, feeling the spotlight on him as he closes his eyes, trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him. When he opens them again upon feeling the stage start to descend, he sees Namjoon still looking at him in awe, his face wet with tears.

The whole room is stunned into silence, and Namjoon brings his hand up to his mouth, completely and utterly mesmerized by Seokjin's performance. When he sings that maybe he can never fly, Namjoon wants so badly to yell out 'Yes, Jinnie, you CAN fly!' but he restrains himself. He'll just save his words for after the performances for the day are done. There are three more, and Seokjin is in two of them. Namjoon learned from Yoongi that Sunday performances are always shorter, because this gives the staff time to prepare for the upcoming week, and it lets the sugar babies have more opportunities to potentially get hired.

Seokjin's voice and conviction swell and subside with the ebb and flow of the music, and Namjoon thinks he sees tears in the corners of his eyes at one point, but it could just be a trick of the lighting. It's not until he hears it, that unmistakable, barely noticeable, very slight quavering of Seokjin's voice, that he knows his emotions are overwhelming him, too. Still, he belts out a note during the last chorus that brings Namjoon to his feet, ready to applaud wildly the second the song is over. Seokjin's voice fades out, followed by the deep cello, then the lilting violins, one by one, until there is one single, lingering note. When that, too, fades out, only then does Namjoon begin to applaud. It doesn't even take a second for the rest of the room to erupt in thunderous applause, and the curtain closes.

The applause lasts for a good few minutes, and when a short intermission is announced, Namjoon bolts from the room to find Seokjin, feeling the Duchess right on his heels, but he ignores her presence as he makes his way backstage to Seokjin's dressing room. He closes and locks the door behind him, seeing a smiling Seokjin who, indeed, has been crying, and that's all it takes for Namjoon to rush towards him and wrap his arms around him.

“Jinnie, that was beautiful.” Namjoon's voice is thick with emotion as he holds his lover close. “And you can fly. You absolutely can. You can do anything and everything, and I will be by your side to help you achieve all of your dreams.

“Thank you, Joonie.” Seokjin whispers, his words muffled against his chest. Fresh tears begin to fall, and suddenly Seokjin feels like he can't breathe, so he gently pushes away from Namjoon and bends over, bracing his hands on his knees as his breaths come in shallow gasps.

“Seokjin! Are you okay?” Namjoon asks worriedly, placing a hand on the other's back and rubbing gently. “Can I get you some water?”

“Yes. Please.” Seokjin's voice comes out in a choked whisper, and Namjoon reaches for a nearby water bottle, twists the lid off and throws it across the room, spilling some water in the process, and presses it to Seokjin's lips. The younger takes a few sips and finally gains control of his breathing, and Namjoon helps him to sit down on the couch. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome baby, but Jinnie, what was that? Did I squeeze too hard when I hugged you?”

“No no, not at all. I don't know what that was.” He smiles up at his Joonie as he wipes the tears from his eyes. “I'm okay. Really.” Namjoon sinks onto the couch next to him and pulls him into his lap.

“Okay. But please let me just hold you for a few moments.”

“Of course, my Joonie. Of course.” Seokjin smiles as he settles in against Namjoon, and he loses himself in the feeling of the older's strong arms wrapped securely but carefully around him, the smell of his cologne, and the steady, reassuring beating of his heart.

“Jinnie,” Namjoon's voice is a low murmur, “you have to get ready for your next performance now. Will you come to me when the curtain falls?”

“Yes, I will.” He turns his head to kiss Namjoon gently, pulling away before he can give in to his desires, and stands from his lap with help from the older. He and Namjoon exchange one more kiss before the older leaves the room, and Namjoon is relieved when he sees that the Duchess is nowhere to be found. He sees Junmyeon walking by and reaches out to get his attention.

“Namjoon, hello! Is something wrong?”

“I'm not sure. I was in there telling Seokjin what a wonderful job he did, and then suddenly it was as if he couldn't breathe, and it took him a moment before he could breathe normally. He said it hadn't happened before. Will you please look into it?”

“Yes, of course I will. Thank you for telling me. I have to attend to other matters now, so if you will please excuse me.” He bows low, and Namjoon returns the gesture before Junmyeon scurries off down the hallway.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You have to fi this, SiHyuk! Jin has barely looked at me or Baekhyun since we left his suite this morning.” The Duchess is enraged, pacing back and forth across SiHyuk's office, her heels clicking angrily on the floor. “I want him to be mine.”

“Dear Duchess, we talked about this. I can not let go of him. Not only is this home, he loves performing. You saw him up there during his new solo. He was in his element. He is also the star as well as the most highly paid and requested sugar baby that I have on my staff. I simply can not let him go, and there are no exceptions to that. I am sorry.”

The Duchess keeps pacing, and she tries not to let SiHyuk see that she's panicking on the inside because of her dwindling funds. If she buys Jin, it would leave her totally broke, and she wouldn't be able to support him. “How about if you make him quit? Force him to leave so that he has to come live with me?”

“I'm not going to do that.” SiHyuk is firm, and he is outwardly calm, sitting behind his desk with his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and his fingers laced together in front of him. “He loves it here, and I think of him as a son.” His eyebrows suddenly shoot up. “Duchess, are you having financial trouble?”

The Duchess stops in her tracks, and she wheels around to face SiHyuk, trying to appear menacing as she steps behind his desk and bends over him, but he doesn't move. “Don't you dare ever ask a lady how much money she has. It's none of your damn business! Jin WILL be mine, and there is nothing you can do about it.” Her tone is dripping with acid, and she sweeps her arm to make a stack of papers go flying off the desk before storming out of his office.

“We'll see about that,” SiHyuk murmurs to no one in particular as he stoops to pick up his papers. Junmyeon timidly knocks on the door, and SiHyuk glances up. “Suho! Please, come in.”

“Hi, sunbae-nim. There's something I need to tell you about Seokjin.” He relays everything Namjoon told him about what happened, and SiHyuk slowly settles back into his chair, setting his papers carefully on his desk.

“Make him an appointment to see my doctor. We will take him first thing tomorrow morning.”


	16. XV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Angst ahead~

Taehyung, once again, has the feeling that something is horribly wrong. It's an unshakable feeling in his gut, like a rock has settled there and won't budge. The feeling is only confirmed when the Duchess walks out of SiHyuk's office, her face beet red, which is a stark contrast to the pale pink hue of her dress. Immediately he goes to find someone, anyone, to warn them. “Jimin!” He calls out upon seeing the brown-haired male.

“Hi, Taehyungie!” he smiles, using his affectionate nickname for his boyfriend.

“Hi, jagi. Listen, you know how I have strange gut feelings when something is horribly wrong, or about to be that way. I have that feeling right now, and when I saw the Duchess walking by, she looked like she was about to do something incredibly dangerous. I have to go home to get ready to shoot a scene, so I'm leaving you to warn everyone here.”

“Of course, Tae. I'll make sure Junmyeon-hyung and Minseok-hyung keep a close eye on everyone here, especially Jin-hyung.” Taehyung thanks him, and the two exchange a quick but sweet kiss before Taehyung leaves. Jimin makes his rounds around the club, warning everyone that the Duchess may try something and to keep an eye out for each other. “It may sound cliché, but no one should go around alone. And somebody, maybe even two people at a time, should always be with Jin-hyung. He should not be alone at all today.” He says this to Namjoon, who of course takes it as a matter of the utmost importance.

“Thank you, Jimin. I won't leave his side, and I know you and the other dancers will be with him backstage and while he's on the stage. I don't even have to ask.”

“He's like a parental figure to me and Jungkook-ah, and we would lay down our lives to make sure he's safe.”

“Well, hopefully it won't come to that.” Namjoon gives Jimin's shoulder a squeeze, and the younger disappears backstage with Jungkook by his side, the two engaged in a hushed conversation.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thankfully, the rest of the afternoon's performances go perfectly and without any disturbance from the Duchess. So, as promised, Seokjin goes straight to Namjoon after the final curtain. He finds him waiting on the couch in his suite, and Namjoon smiles warmly as he opens his arms so Seokjin can crawl into them. After a moment, Seokjin's voice gently breaks the silence that had previously only been punctuated by the soft sounds of their breathing and the beating of their hearts. “Hi, Joonie.”

“Hi, Jinnie. How are you feeling?” The older holds him close, like he could fly away and shatter at any moment.

“Mm, better now that I'm in your arms.” Seokjin tilts his head up, and his lips look irresistible, so naturally, Namjoon has to kiss them. The younger parts his lips, which Namjoon takes as permission to delve his tongue into the other man's mouth, deepening their kiss. Seokjin readjusts so that he's straddling the older's lap, and he rolls his hips, making the older groan underneath him as their clothed erections grind together. “Joonie, will you make love to me please?”

“Of course, but you're not allowed to call me Namjoon or Joonie right now.” He smirks at Seokjin's confused expression, and his voice drops dangerously low as he says “I've been thinking a lot about our first encounter. I want you to call me Daddy if you really are comfortable with that.”

Seokjin's face and ears turn a dark shade of pink, and he murmurs “Make love to me Daddy, please...”

The words send a tingle of pure ecstasy down Namjoon's spine, and he says, “So good, baby boy. Have you ever called anyone Daddy before?” as his fingers skim over Seokjin's muscles to unbutton his shirt, carefully laying the silk garment to the side.

“No I haven't Daddy, but it feels right with you. So many things feel right with you.” He makes quick work of removing Namjoon's navy sweater and tosses it somewhere in the room. “Let's make love.”

“Anything for you, my Jinnie.” Namjoon removes his pants and boxers and helps Seokjin rid himself of his, leaving both of them naked, and then he lays his lover down on the bed, whispering soft words of praise and appreciation as he kisses him all over his body, paying extra attention to his nipples but avoiding his cock, no matter how Seokjin tries to squirm to feel some kind of friction. Namjoon holds Seokjin's hips still as he then moves down to lie between his legs. “Let Daddy show his Princess some attention.” The nickname slips from his lips before he realizes what he's saying, but the younger seems to love it, if the way he giggles is any indication. Namjoon smirks as he licks a fat stripe up the underside of Seokjin's shaft, eliciting a loud moan from the younger as his back arches off of the bed.

“More, Daddy, please- fuck!” he gasps as the older's tongue swirls around the tip of his cock and digs into his slit that's already dribbling precum. Namjoon watches every reaction of the man underneath him as he writhes and moans on the bed, and he takes a mental note of which sorts of touches on which spots of his body make him feel the most pleasure. “Just like that Daddy, please...”

Namjoon removes his mouth from his lover's cock long enough to bring three fingers up to his mouth, his voice leaving no room for deliberation as he says “Suck.” Seokjin immediately sucks the digits into his warm, wet mouth, and Namjon groans at the sight. “You look so hot, baby. So fucking wrecked for me. Make my fingers nice and wet.” He engulfs Seokjin's cock in one motion, causing him to moan around the older's fingers as he bites down on them gently. He lets him suckle on his fingers for another moment before removing them and placing them at his puckered entrance. He pushes one in and begins thrusting it in and out slowly, curling it until he finds Seokjin's prostate.

“Fuck Daddy there, right there, yesss~” Seokjin hisses as his eyes roll back into his head. Namjoon adds a second finger and relishes in the way his lover bucks his hips and begs for more. Happy to oblige, Namjoon adds the third finger, pushing in slowly, his free hand reaching up to brush over Seokjin's sensitive hardened nipples. “So good Daddy, so good,” he murmurs. “I'm gonna cum soon if you don't stop...”

Namjoon keeps going, murmuring “Then cum for me, Princess.” around Seokjin's cock. The vibrations from his voice send shivers through Seokjin's body, and he lets out a strangled moan as, when Namjoon swallows around the head of his cock, his orgasm overwhelms him and he shoots cum down Namjoon's throat. He swallows every drop and gently licks him clean before pulling hi head back and licking his lips, Seokjin's now soft cock lying along his inner thigh. Namjoon then removes his fingers from the younger's ass, making him whine at the empty feeling, and crawls up onto the bed to pull him into his arms. “Are you okay, my Jinnie?”

“Mm, yes, I'm more than okay. That was amazing.” He blushes and buries his face in the crook of Namjoon's neck and shoulder, making the older chuckle. “But, you didn't get to cum yet...”

“Oh, not to worry, Princess. I had Hoseok pay for three hours. I'm going to fuck you into this mattress as soon as you feel up to it, and it'll leave you barely able to remember your own name.”

“But... can I handle cumming again so soon?”

“There's only one way to find out.” Namjoon pulls his Princess close so he can kiss him lovingly, and soon, Seokjin is fucked into the mattress, like Namjoon promised, and he has not one but two more orgasms. The two lovers are so wrapped up in each other that they have no idea what's going on beyond Seokjin's door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Minseok, meet me in my limo, please.” The Duchess is all sugary sweetness as she addresses him in the main area of the club. Minseok knows that she's not happy with him, but as much as he does not want to go, he'll be worse off if he says no to her. So, he notifies Junmyeon that he's taking a short break and will be back soon, then he follows his primary employer out the front door of the club and into her limo. The second they're alone, the Duchess's demeanor does a total turnaround.

“You traitor! You idiot!” She hurls herself at Minseok and starts landing slaps and punches all over him. “You were supposed to learn more about Jin so I could talk and spend my way into his life to make him want me. But I haven't heard a single word from you all day! And then when I was talking to SiHyuk, you were nowhere to be found!”

Minseok is more irritated than hurt by the comparably weak way she's punching him, so he calmly waits until she grows tired before speaking. “Madam, it's only been a day. When you were talking to SiHyuk, I was watching over Jin to see what I could learn--”

The Duchess is quick to interrupt him.“No. No! I'm through with your excuses! I am finished with your attitude, your laziness, your refusal to do the simplest of tasks, your jealousy when I bring Baekhyun into my bed, and your parents' constant calls and texts asking me if their debt to me has been paid off so you can go home to them. I am done with you.”

It's only then that Minseok notices he's sitting on a tarp that's covering the whole back seat.

Before he can formulate a response, the Duchess takes off her dress, leaving her naked, and then she brandishes a knife from a hidden compartment in the seat next to her. With a wild look in her eyes, she grips the hilt with both hands, raises it above her head, and plunges it into Minseok's chest, right through his heart, and twists it to make it go deeper. Minseok feels pain only for a moment, and then it slowly fades away as his world goes black.

The Duchess uses Minseok's jacket sleeve to wipe the blood off of her skin, and then she redresses herself. “Driver, dispose of this, please. The whole thing. And then fetch me a new limo.” She exits the vehicle and walks back into the club, flicking her hair back over her shoulder.

What she doesn't know, is that someone was watching her and saw everything.


	17. XVI.

“Minseok! Minseok?” Junmyeon is jogging around the multiple rooms and hallways of The Pi Ttam Nunmul trying to find the shorter male. “Jimin, Jungkook, have either of you seen Minseok? It's been an hour, and he hasn't come back from his break yet.”

“No, hyung. The last time I saw him was when he was heading out front with the Duchess.” Jungkook looks apologetic, then he glances around as if sensing a presence. Under his breath, he murmurs, “Speak of the devil...” as the Duchess comes waltzing up to them, looking quite happy, which is a total change from the last time anyone had seen her a couple of hours ago.

“Hello, boys.”

“Hello, Madam Duchess,” the three men reply simultaneously.

“Say, you three haven't seen Minseok, have you?”

“No, madam. I was just asking these two if they had seen him, and they haven't. I am sorry.”

“Oh, it's alright. I'm sure he's just run off to go for a swim or something. He's always doing silly things like that.” She rolls her eyes and checks the time on her diamond-encrusted Rolex watch. “Well, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. Farewell for now.” She walks breezily past them and whistles sharply, then seconds later, a flustered-looking, messy-haired Baekhyun comes out of one of the rooms with an equally flustered-looking Jongin right behind him and hurriedly buttoning up his shirt.

“Something fishy is going on,” Jungkook says as soon as the Duchess and Baekhyun are out of earshot. “Did it seem to either of you like the Duchess's watch was tinged with red in some places?”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” says Jimin. “Perhaps it's paint?”

“No, it's not paint.” Yoongi comes in out of nowhere, making the three men jump.

“Hi, Yoongi-hyung! How can you be so sure?” Jimin asks.

“Hi, Jimin-ah. I'm not just sure; I know it is true. But, come on, we can't talk here.” He motions for them to follow them into Junmyeon's office.

Yoongi closes the door to the office and stands in the middle of the room, looking at Junmyeon, Jimin, and Jungkook. Speaking softly, he says, “I witnessed the Duchess murder Minseok in the back of her limo.”

“What?!” Jimin exclaims, and he sinks to his knees, feeling sick to his stomach. Jungkook joins him and squeezes his hand, looking shocked. (A/N: Jungshook~)

“Are you sure?” Junmyeon asks.

“Yes. I saw everything with my own two eyes. I sent Hoseok-ah to wait for me at a public place with instructions not to leave, too.”

“We have to tell our sunbae-nim,” says Junmyeon. He starts to leave the room when Yoongi calls after him.

“Wait, hyung. The Duchess is a powerful woman with a lot of money. She'll do something to try to cover it up.”

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice speaks up timidly. “I think I can help.” The others look up to see a tall man with honey blonde hair standing in the doorway, dressed in a sharp navy suit with a white shirt and navy silk tie. His eyes are red and wet with unshed tears.

“Who are you?” Yoongi asks bluntly.

“Oh, my apologies. I am Kim Jongdae, and I'm the Duchess's limo driver.” 

“How do we know you can be trusted?” Yoongi asks with narrowed eyes.

“Minseok is- well, was, my brother.” His voice cracks, and Junmyeon walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder as Jongdae covers his mouth with one of his hands. 

“I am so sorry. I didn't mean-” Yoongi's face softens, and he takes a deep breath and offers Jongdae a couple of tissues, which he takes gratefully and uses them to mop his tears away.

“It's okay, um, I'm sorry, I don't even know any of your names.”

“I'm Min Yoongi. Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook are two of the dancers here, and Kim Junmyeon is the mental carer for the male dancers.” Each male bows his head respectfully, and Jimin rises from the floor, his hands brushing quickly at his pants.

“I could sense something different about Minseok from the moment I met him. He had a good, kind heart. He told me that he was going to protect our Seokjin, and I believed him right away.”

“Yes, Minseok was always that way.” Jongdae offers a small smile, and Jimin returns it while lightly patting his arm.

“The Duchess won't get away with this.” Yoongi steps forward. “If she could so easily do such a thing to Minseok, who worked for her for...” he pauses to look at Jongdae for confirmation, and he holds up two fingers “two years, there's no telling what she'll do to any of us, especially Namjoon or Seokjin.”

“She is a powerful woman, and there is much to fear about her. I didn't think she was capable of such a thing. She told me to 'dispose of this',” he uses air quotes for those three words, “but I took the limo straight to the police and came back here. It's only a matter of time until someone there contacts her.”

“What do we do until then?” asks Jungkook. “You would know better than anyone, Jongdae.”

“For now, tell your boss.”

“We have to tell Seokjin-ah and Namjoon-ah too,” says Junmyeon. “They've been unaware of all of this because they've been in Seokjin's private suite. And I will tell our sunbae-nim.”

“Ah, I see.” Jongdae's ears and cheeks turn red upon hearing about Namjoon and Seokjin, but he quickly composes himself. “Hyung, may I come with you to talk to Mr. Bang?”

“Of course. Let's go now.”

“Okay, hyung.” The two men exit the room, leaving Yoongi, Jungkook, and Jimin.

“What now?” asks Jimin.

“We need to find and warn Seokjin-hyung and Namjoon-hyung,” says Jungkook.

“You two go, and I will stay here and wait for Junmyeon and Jongdae.”

“Alright, Yoongi-hyung.” Jimin, with a sudden burst of emotion in his chest, gives Yoongi a quick hug before leaving the room with Jungkook and leaving behind a stunned Yoongi.

“Well that just happened,” he murmurs to himself as he sits in one of the overstuffed armchairs and pulls out his phone. He dials a number, and the person he's calling picks up after the second ring. “Hello. I'm sorry to call you like this on a Sunday afternoon, but I need your help.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A short while later, Seokjin, Jungkook, Jimin, Junmyeon, and SiHyuk are gathered in SiHyuk's office while Yoongi and Namjoon wait in the hallway. Jongdae joined them a few minutes ago, and he and Namjoon are conversing quietly, while Yoongi is bent over his phone, typing furiously on the keyboard with a stoic expression on his face.

“Jongdae-hyung, I only met with Minseok briefly, but he really did seem like the sort of man that I would have been honored to call a friend.”

“Thank you, Namjoon-ah. I don't know Seokjin all that well, but I do know he's lucky to have you.”

“Thank you.” Namjoon smiles, showing his dimples, and when he's about to ask Jongdae a question, the door to SiHyuk's office opens. Jungkook and Jimin go their separate ways, and a red-eyed, shaking Seokjin walks out slowly with Junmyeon supporting him.

“Namjoon-ah, please take Seokjin-ah with you. Our sunbae-nim doesn't want him here right now.”

“Okay. Come here, Princess. It's okay, Jinnie, it's okay.” Namjoon murmurs as he reaches for the other male, who barrels into his arms and wraps his arms tightly around his waist.

“I'll drive,” says Yoongi. “Junmyeon-hyung, please call me if there are any updates.”

“Of course, Yoongi-yah.” The men exchange bows before Namjoon, Seokjin, and Yoongi leave. Junmyeon turns to Jongdae, his face wearing a soft, sad expression. “He does not know what to do.” He's about to say more, but a phone ringing interrupts him.

“That's mine; please excuse me.” Jongdae retrieves his phone from his jacket pocket and, upon seeing the screen, murmurs “It's the Duchess.” He slides his finger across it to answer. “Hello, madam.” Her voice can be heard through the other line. “Yes, ma'am. I took care of the limo. I am glad you found a mode of public transportation that is to your liking.” Her voice raises so that Jongdae has to hold the phone away from his ear for a moment. “Yes, madam. I am almost finished with getting a new limo, and then I'll be right there. I promise.” The line goes dead without another word from her, and he sighs. “I completely forgot about getting her a new limo.”

“You should probably do that,” says Junmyeon. “I need to handle some things here. The boss has insisted on installing a new security system, including cameras and all sorts of other fancy things, and I have to call to find a good one. I also need to help him look into hiring body guards.”

“Of course, hyung. I'll let you get back to it. Thank you for everything today.”

“You're welcome. And I am so sorry about Minseok. I hope this isn't the last time we meet.”

“Neither do I, hyung.” The two men shake hands and bow to each other, then Jongdae leaves the club and Junmyeon turns to walk back into SiHyuk's office, when he sees a figure out of the corner of his eye that makes him stop short and gasp.

“Hello, Junmyeon.”


	18. XVII.

“That could have been me. It could have been me, Joonie. Oh God...” Seokjin hasn't let go of Namjoon once since they left the club. The four of them – Yoongi, Hoseok, Namjoon, and Seokjin – were sitting in a booth at the very public, very well-lit restaurant that Yoongi had sent Hoseok to earlier to keep him out of harm's way. Yoongi was again aggressively tapping and typing on his phone's screen with a half eaten burger in front of him, Hoseok was picking at a plate of pork belly with vegetables, Namjoon was bent over a glass of beer, and Seokjin was being gently made to drink from a glass of water while clinging to Namjoon like a koala.

“Shh, baby, shh. It could have been any of us, but it wasn't. It wasn't you. You're still here. I'm still here. I've got you, and I am not going anywhere.” Namjoon murmurs into his lover's ear. “Will you please eat something? I asked the waiter to prepare a plate of food and keep it warm for you, just in case.”

“Y-you did that for me?” Seokjin's face lights up with his first smile in hours, and Namjoon relaxes a little.

“Of course I did. I don't know exactly what kinds of foods you like, so I ordered you some black noodles with an assortment of sauces.”

“Joonie, that's one of my favorites!” He relinquishes his hold on Namjoon's waist to throw his arms around his neck and kiss him, not caring that they're in public. “Thank you,” he says upon pulling away.

“You're welcome, my Jinnie.” Their waiter comes by and Namjoon asks for Seokjin's food, which is brought out a moment later. Seokjin digs in, taking rather large mouthfuls that make his cheeks puff out like a squirrel. It's adorable, and Namjoon can't help but smile as he watches his lover eat.

Hoseok, who hasn't said much, speaks up quietly. “What are we going to do?”

“Well, I've been chatting with a friend of my father's who works at the police station.” Yoongi sounds slightly annoyed. “They need me to come in and give a statement, but I gave him a rundown of what I saw. I shouldn't be too long. Stay with Namjoon and Seokjin, okay Hobi?” Yoongi stands and leans over to peck his boyfriend's lips. “I love you.”

“Okay. I love you too, hyung.” He squeezes Yoongi's hand before he walks away, then he turns back to the couple in front of him with a sigh. “I'm worried about him.”

“I'm worried, too. For everyone.” Namjoon glances to Seokjin and then leans across the table. “I have no idea what we're going to do. I guess we wait for Yoongi-yah to get back.”

“Yeah. Can we do something crazy to keep us busy?” Hoseok's eyes light up.

“Like what?” Namjoon narrows his eyes.

“Well... have either of you colored anyone's hair before?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hello, my name is Min Yoongi and I'm here to give my statement about the murder of Kim Minseok.”

“Hello, Mr. Min. Please follow me.” The receptionist smiles kindly despite the circumstances, and she stands from the desk to lead Yoongi back to the sheriff's office. Once they're there, she knocks quietly on the door, and a gruff voice tells them to come in. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” Yoongi bows to the receptionist, and she returns the gesture with a bob of her head and a bit of a blush as she turns to walk back to her desk. Yoongi smirks to himself but quickly regains his composure as he opens the door and enters the room. “Sheriff Choi? My name is Min Yoongi, and I'm here to give my statement.”

“Ah, yes. Please have a seat, and please tell me everything that you saw. Don't leave anything out, even if you think it may be insignificant.” He clicks his mouse a few times and then poises his fingers over the keyboard. “But first, I need a few details. Your full name, age, date of birth, and the like.” After Yoongi gives him the required information, Sheriff Choi nods. “You may begin.”

“Okay. Kim Minseok started working for The Pi Ttam Nunmul just today. The Duchess, whose real name is Kwon Ara, got him the job there for her own devious means to spy on the favorite dancer there, Kim Seokjin.” He tells the sheriff everything he can think of, from the confrontation in SiHyuk's office to the Duchess's demeanor to the way she asked Minseok out to her limo, everything he witnessed her do, and the blood on her watch afterwards. He waits patiently for the sheriff to finish typing before speaking again. “Sheriff Choi, if that's not enough to put her away, then I don't know what is.”

“We will need a statement from Mr. Kim's brother and Ms. Kwon's other personal employee as well, but yes. She and her mother are rivals of your father, correct?” 

“Yes, sir. They are business rivals, because they own similar companies. My father has been working extra hours at the office with his entire team becaue they're putting the final touches on a new development in Daegu, my hometown, and my mother is meeting with investors in Tokyo.” Yoongi pulls up their cell and office numbers and gives them to the sheriff.

“Thank you. One more question, just a formality for the record. Where were you at the time of the murder of Kim Minseok?”

“I was at The Pi Ttam Nunmul, standing in the front hallway, where there is security footage. I was coming back in from getting my wallet from my car.”

“And why were you getting your wallet?”

“Err.” He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “My boyfriend and I helped someone pay for time with Seokjin, and I needed to pay him back for the portion I paid.” He feels his face turning red, and the sheriff simply nods.

“I see. I have a don't ask, don't tell policy with Mr. Bang about the way he runs his business. I'm guessing this... Kim Seokjin was indisposed at the time of the murder?”

“Yes, sir. I'm not sure if there is footage to prove that, but you will have to ask Mr. Bang.”

“Yes, we will be speaking to him as well.” He's about to say something else when there's another knock on his door. “Please come in.”

“Hi, sheriff. I'm sorry to bother you.” A male officer a bit older than Yoongi comes in with a worried expression on his face and leans in close to whisper something in the sheriff's ear. His eyes widen and he stands from his seat.

“Mr. Min, I'm sorry but I have to go. Don't leave town, and don't go anywhere alone. Tell everyone you know the same thing.” To the male officer, he says, “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes. We need to handle this now, sir.” He gives Yoongi a meaningful look and, taking the hint, Yoongi stands from his seat.

“I'll give the receptionist my number. Thank you, sheriff.” He bows to both of the men and leaves the room, wondering what the hell was so urgent and hoping it's nothing too serious. As promised, he gives the receptionist his cell number, and right when he's about to slip his phone back into his pocket, it rings. It's a number he vaguely recognizes, and he slides his finger across the screen to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hi, Yoongi. I'm afraid I have some bad news.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hello, Junmyeon.”

“Baekhyun! Hello! You scared me.” Junmyeon places a hand over his heart and takes a steadying breath. “I thought you'd left already?”

“I did, but then she told me what she did to Minseok.” His voice cracks, and he runs a hand through his hair and clears his throat. “I came straight here because I didn't know where else to go.” His face is unreadable and hard as he continues. “She was bragging about it, like she was proud. I was in the middle of shooting a vlog for my little niece, and I put my phone down but didn't stop recording. I have her confession on tape. I want to help take her down.”

“You have no idea what a relief it is to hear that.” Junmyeon closes the distance between the two of them and places a steady hand on the younger's shoulder. “We all thought you were her lap dog or something, no offense.”

Baekhyun laughs at that, and he shakes his head. “I'm just a very good actor. I can't stand her.”

“That makes two of us!” Junmyeon laughs softly. “Now, we need to go to the police station.” They begin to walk out the door when he stops. “Wait. Where did you tell the Duchess you were going? I know she wouldn't let you walk out without a reason.”

“I snuck out while she was taking a nap.”

“Are you sure you want to risk that?” Junmyeon asks gently.

“No. I'm not sure of anything right now.”

“I understand.” The two head to Junmyeon's car, and Baekhyun's phone rings. He frowns seeing a number he doesn't recognize. He puts it on speaker before he answers.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Byun Baekhyun?”

“Yes sir, it is.”

“Good. Baekhyun, this is Sheriff Choi with the Seoul City Police Station. I need you to come in right away.”

“Ah, hello, sheriff. I'm actually on my way right now with a recording of the Duchess telling me what she did to Kim Minseok.”

“That will be helpful, but there is something else I need to tell you. Please come straight to me when you arrive. Are you coming alone?”

“No, sir. I am coming with Kim Junmyeon, the caretaker for the male dancers at The Pi Ttam Nunmul.”

“Good. I'm glad you're not alone. What I must tell you is of the utmost importance.”

“We're on the way. I will see you soon.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Byun.”

The line goes dead, and Junmyeon and Baekhyun exchange a worried look. Whatever the sheriff has to tell Baekhyun can't be good.


	19. XVIII.

Hoseok is humming and playing a game on his phone when his screen lights up with Yoongi's picture and plays his ringtone. He quickly answers, glad to finally hear from him. “Hi, hyung! Are you finished at the police station already?”

“Yes. Are Namjoon and Seokjin there with you?”

Hoseok looks at Namjoon, who is massaging Seokjin's shoulders and whispering into his ear, and chuckles. “Yes, they're here. They're helping me color my hair! I think you'll like it, hyung.”

“Okay. Put your phone on speaker.” Yoongi's curt response makes Hoseok frown.

“Done. What's the matter?”

“The Duchess is missing.”

Namjoon and Seokjin stop what they're doing and turn their heads towards Hoseok. “What?!” Seokjin wails and clings to Namjoon.

“Yeah.” Yoongi sighs, sounding tired. “You three are not to leave that house. Do you understand? I'm on my way home with groceries right now. Don't let anyone in unless it's me, okay?”

“Okay, hyung. I'll see you soon. Please stay safe.”

“You too, Hobi.” Yoongi hangs up the phone and Hoseok sets his aside, his game forgotten as he stares at Seokjin, who has his face buried in his lover's shoulder as he is rocked back and forth.

“I don't know what we're-” Namjoon is interrupted when suddenly Seokjin's phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Seokjin-ah. It's Junmyeon.”

“Oh, hi hyung. Please wait one moment, let me put you on speaker phone.” Seokjin speaks as if he's in a daze, and he taps his screen once then sets his phone on the coffee table. “Namjoon-hyung and Hoseok-ah are here with me.”

“I was about to ask if you'd heard about the Duchess, but your tone of voice answers that question.”

“Yes, Yoongi-hyung just called and let us know. How did you hear about it?”

“Baekhyun came by the club after the Duchess bragged to him about what she did, and we just got to the police station. The sheriff told him and then immediately had him give his statement, and I'm going to be next to give them all the information I can.”

“Oh my God.” Seokjin leans further into Namjoon, who wraps his arms more tightly around the younger male. 

“Jinnie, it's okay. It's alright. I've got you. She can not hurt you.” He murmurs reassuringly into Seokjin's ear. He raises his head and speaks a bit more loudly so Junmyeon can hear him. “Baekhyun is with you? How do we know he can be trusted?”

“He was in the middle of recording a vlog for his niece when the Duchess started bragging about it. He set his phone down but didn't turn his camera off, so he has her confession on a recording. He played it for me, and he's more than likely playing it for the police as we speak. It's real.”

The room is silent for a long moment. Hoseok excuses himself to finish coloring his hair, and then Seokjin moves slightly in Namjoon's arms. “Junmyeon-hyung, Yoongi-hyung told us this and I'm going to tell you, too. Don't let yourself be alone, please.”

“I won't, Seokjin-ah. Don't worry. They're calling me back now. I'll speak with you soon.”

“Okay. I'll talk to you soon, hyung.” Seokjin taps his screen to end the call, and for a few minutes, the only sound that can be heard in the house is the running water in the bathroom. “Joonie, can we go to the kitchen? I'm going to cook something. Cooking helps me relax.”

“Of course, my Jinnie. You'll have to let go of me first, though.” Namjoon chuckles and kisses Seokjin gently on the lips, and the younger smiles a little as he loosens his hold on the older.

Soon, the smells of food cooking and the sounds of kitchen utensils and pots and pans being used, interspersed with Seokjin's quiet singing, fill the house, and Hoseok joins them in the kitchen with a shower cap snugly fit over his head, holding the box of hair dye and setting a timer on his phone.

“Oooooh, is that kimchi I smell?” he asks excitedly.

“It is! Cooking relaxes me, so I'm making a few different things, actually. Stir-fried beef and vegetables, kimchi, black noodles, bean soup, rice, and for dessert, homemade strawberry sauce for vanilla ice cream. With real strawberries, of course. Fake strawberry flavoring is disgusting!” He goes on about his love for real strawberries, his processes for making everything, and what his favorite foods are. Namjoon listens intently, finding that he could listen to Seokjin talk about anything and be totally immersed in whatever he's saying. He hangs on to the younger's every word as if he's revealing the secret to true happiness, to love, and that's when he realizes it. Love. He loves Seokjin. He's only known him for three days, but he's never felt this way about anyone in his life. It has to be love.

“What do you think, Namjoon-hyung?” Hoseok's voice, raised a few volume levels above Seokjin's, breaks Namjoon out of his trance.

“Huh? What?” He snaps his head towards the younger male.

“I said, we have to have Seokjin cook for us more often, once things settle down and he has the time away from The Pi Ttam Nunmul.”

“Oh, yes, absolutely! I would love that.” Namjoon smiles in a heartfelt manner towards Seokjin, who blushes as red as the kimchi he's stirring in the pot in front of him.

“Oh, I need to go wash the dye out of my hair.” Hoseok dashes off to the bathroom and water is heard running a moment later.

The two men go to work preparing the table when there's a knock on the door, making them tense up.

“It's probably just Yoongi-yah,” Namjoon says as he walks towards the door. “Yoongi, is that you?” He calls out.

“Yes, it's me.” Namjoon unlocks the door, and in walks a tired-looking Yoongi holding two grocery bags in each hand, appearing as if he's been through hell and just wants to go to sleep. “Hi, everyone.”

“Hi, hyung!” Hoseok runs out of the bathroom, his hair coverd in a towel, then he flings himself at his boyfriend and hugs him tightly. Yoongi's look of tiredness melts away as he sets the bags on the ground and wraps his arms around the younger so he can hug him equally as tightly. “I was so worried about you. I'm glad you're safe.”

“It's okay, Hoseokie. There's no need to be worried. I'm here now.” Hoseok nods into Yoongi's shoulder and murmurs something intelligible. Yoongi chuckles in response and then lifts his head. “What smells so delicious?”

“I hope you don't mind hyung; I used your kitchen because cooking relaxes me, so I made quite a bit of food for tonight that might even last us until tomorrow.”

“Oh, I don't mind at all. Thank you, Seokjin-ah. I was dreading having to come home and cook something, and this is such a nice surprise.” He lets go of a reluctant Hoseok and walks to the kitchen to put away the groceries, the other three trailing behind him.

“You're welcome, hyung.” He smiles proudly as he lifts the lid on the skillet holding the beef and vegetables. “Ah, it's ready now! Let's eat.” Seokjin sets the skillet on the table, and then, as if a spell has settled over them and nothing bad is going on outside the safety of the house, they start eating, complimenting Seokjin on the quality of the food, talking about Namjoon's job applications, and about a song that Seokjin has been writing to perform at The Pi Ttam Nunmul. 

“Oh, perhaps I can help you write it Jinnie? I've never written a song before, but what you're talking about sounds like something I have written about.” Namjoon squeezes Seokjin's hand, and the younger blushes a pretty shade of dark pink.

“I would be grateful for some help, Joonie-hyung.” Seokjin leans his head on his lover's shoulder, and the two exchange a glance before Seokjin stands to serve dessert. They eat happily, and after helping with the dishes, the four men gather in the living room to watch a movie. They let Seokjin choose, and he picks a romantic comedy. When it's over, even Yoongi gets into it and announces that he's happy with the ending. Jongdae walks in soon after, having already eaten dinner with his parents and spent a long evening at the police station. He and Yoongi had met up there and arranged for Jongdae to stay with them for the time being. Yoongi leads him to the guest bedroom before the others go to their rooms for the evening, each saying a silent prayer (or, well, their own version of one) that everything would be alright.

“I love the hair color by the way,” Yoongi murmurs to Hoseok as the two are lying in bed. “Orange really suits you.” He runs his fingers through the freshly-colored tangerine-hued locks on his boyfriend's head and then kisses his ear.

“Thank you hyung. I wanted to do something off-the-wall to distract my mind from my worry.”

“Don't be worried. There's no way the Duchess will get away with this. I have a man and his team looking for her as we speak. You might know him.”

Hoseok frowns. “What makes you say that?”

“He went to high school with us. Do you remember Do Kyungsoo?”


	20. XIX.

Seokjin's phone rings at 7:33 A.M. the next morning – an ungodly hour by any normal person's standards – and, thinking it must be a spam call, he ignores it as he pulls the blankets back up over his exposed chest and rolls over to face Namjoon. Just when his eyes are closed, his phone rings again.

“Oh come on,” he grumbles. He blindly reaches for his phone and sits up to answer it without checking the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Good morning, Seokjin-ah. I'm not happy about being awake at this hour either.” SiHyuk's voice is low and heavy with sleep. “You have a doctor's appointment today.”

“Morning, sunbae-nim. I do? Why?” Seokjin feels Namjoon's arms wrapping around him, and he leans back into his embrace as he feels his lips on his neck.

“Because your little episode with not being able to breathe yesterday was worrisome. I just want to make sure you're okay. Let this old man have some peace of mind about you, hm?”

“You're not old, sunbae-nim. What time is it at?”

“It's at noon. The police are going to be here soon too, so there aren't any rehearsals or anything today. I'll see you later.”

“Okay, sunbae-nim. Thank you.” Seokjin speaks in a rush as Namjoon's hand wraps around his cock and squeezes gently, and he quickly hangs up the phone. “Joonie, what are you doing? That was my boss, and- oh fuck...” he gasps as the older's hand lazily rubs up and down his shaft.

“Well, to be blunt, I'm trying to get you worked up so I can fuck you. Why do you have an appointment?”

“Because of my incident with not being able to breathe yesterday. And mm, but Joonie, how can you even think of sex at a time like this? Someone was murdered less than 24 hours ago.”

“I'm glad you're going to get checked out.” He moves so that he can lie Seokjin on his back. “And we should take advantage of this rare opportunity we have. You're in my bed, we're not at the club, not on the clock, and before you protest about breaking the rules, just remember that Jimin-ah, Taehyung-ah, and Jungkook-ah are doing the same thing.” As he speaks, he lets his hands roam over Seokjin's naked, vulnerable form. He moves in closer to kiss him, the younger parting his lips so Namjoon's tongue can slip into his mouth.

“Okay, Joonie, you win~” Seokjin murmurs into his lips. He wraps his arms around his lover's neck, and, fully focused on each other, they make slow, passionate love until late into the morning.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Namjoon leaves at ten to fill out and turn in job applications, promising Seokjin that he'll be back in time to take him to the doctor's office, and Seokjin wanders into the kitchen, wearing only a pair of Namjoon's boxers and one of his t-shirts. Out of habit, he starts fixing breakfast, only to hear his phone ping with a text from Hoseok saying that he went to work but Yoongi has a day off and not to disturb him. Seokjin texts back a quick reply and stirs the batter for the pancakes he's making, figuring the older male will be awake by the time he's finished cooking.

Sure enough, Yoongi pads into the kitchen a half an hour later, just when the pancakes are finished and Seokjin is slicing some strawberries and bananas. “Good morning, hyung!” he says as he hands Yoongi a mug of freshly brewed coffee.

“Morning,” Yoongi mumbles as he fixes his coffee the way he likes it and sits heavily at the table. “I woke up to a text from the man I have looking for the Duchess. He has a weak lead, but he doesn't know if it will result in anything substantial.” As he speaks, Seokjin sets a plate of pancakes and bowl of sliced fruit in front of him, then fixes his own and sits down across from the older male. “Thank you.” he says with a smile.

“You're welcome, hyung.” Seokjin chews thoughtfully on a bite of his food before speaking. “Is he like a private investigator?”

“Mm, something like that. I'm not supposed to exactly list out his entire job description.”

Seokjin freezes with his cup of tea halfway to his mouth. “Is he going to kill her?”

“Oh no. Death is too good for her at this point.” Yoongi smirks around his fork as he shovels more pancake into his mouth. “He's going to find her and catch her, and he has specific orders from me and my father to bring her back alive.” When he's saying this, Jongdae walks into the kitchen, eyes red and swollen and blonde hair sticking out in every direction. Seokjin promptly fixes him a mug of coffee and a bowl of fruit, knowing he won't want to eat a lot.

“Thank you,” he says quietly as he sits down at the table. “I kept hoping yesterday was a really bad dream and that I was going to wake up. But it's not. Minseok is-” his voice cracks and he shakes his head. He sits at the table beside Seokjin and goes through the motions of fixing his coffee and sprinkling a bit of sugar on his fruit as if on autopilot. Seokjin places a hand on Jongdae's shoulder and squeezes it gently.

“We're going to make sure she doesn't get away with this. The man I have looking for her is the best of the best. He will find her, and she will be locked up for life. I know it won't bring your brother back, but having her locked up will be better for everyone.” Yoongi's voice is soft and gentle, and Jongdae seems to take comfort in his words.

Jongdae's phone rings, and he checks the caller ID and freezes. “It's her. What should I do?”

“Answer it. Now. And keep her talking.” Yoongi rushes out of the room.

“Hello?” He answers and puts the phone on speaker.

“Hello, Jongdae. Are you alone? Where are you?”

“Hi, madam. I'm alone at another hotel. I paid with cash, so no one could find me.” Yoongi comes back in with a small device and plugs it in to Jongdae's phone, and holds up two fingers and mouths 'two minutes'. Jongdae nods in understanding as the Duchess speaks again.

“Are you running away from me? I know you didn't dispose of the limo like I told you to. That wasn't very smart, Jongdae.”

“No, ma'am. I'm not running away. I just didn't want to be found by anyone else. And I did dispose of the limo, just not in the way you told me to.”

“I'm choosing to trust you, because if you're lying to me, well, let's just say you'll meet the same fate your brother did.” The Duchess cackles and then composes herself. “You don't want that to happen, do you?”

Jongdae blinks back tears. “No, my dear Duchess. I don't. May I ask where you are? I miss you.”

Yoongi gives him a thumbs up, and Seokjin nods in encouragement.

“Now why would I tell you that? You're not the only one who doesn't want to be found. I'm still in the country though, love. Don't worry. I could never be too far from you and Baekhyun. I care about my boys too much.”

“Thank you for that reassurance.” Jongdae speaks with his jaw set, wanting to say so many other things but knowing he has to stay in the Duchess's good graces. He glances down at the timer for the call, which is well over two minutes. Yoongi grins sinisterly as the device flashes and lights up with a readout on the small screen, not making a single sound.

“You're welcome, my dear. Now if you will excuse me, I really must be going. I just wanted to call and check on you. I know that losing your brother is very difficult.” She's testing him. He knows it. But, after taking a deep breath, his reply is totally composed.

“It is. But I will get through it and be okay in time. Goodbye, madam.”

“I know you will. Goodbye.” She hangs up, and Jongdae slams his fist on the table.

“That bitch!” he growls.

“It's okay, hyung. It's okay. We got her.”

“Did we really just find the Duchess in a totally cliché way that you only see in movies and TV?” Seokjin asks as he stands from the table to clear his dishes.

Yoongi pauses in copying the details from the screen on his device to his phone. “Yeah, we did.” He chuckles as he goes back to what he was doing. Seokjin shakes his head as he leaves the room to get ready for his appointment. Jongdae and Yoongi both offer to take him, not wanting him to be alone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Thank you, doctor.” Seokjin smiles and takes his prescription when his appointment is done. It's not too serious; he has a minor respiratory infection and will need to be on antibiotics for a few days. Namjoon wasn't able to be there at the start of the appointment because he got called back for an interview at the newspaper publisher he applied for, and he got hired on the spot. He showed up at the doctor's office right as Seokjin was finishing up, and when the younger saw him, he walked purposefully up to him and hugged him. 

“Hi, Joonie,” he murmurs against the older's neck. “I'm okay.”

“Thank God.” Namjoon hugs his lover more tightly and then pulls away from him. The four men – Namjoon, Seokjin, Jongdae, and Yoongi – leave the office to go out for a celebratory lunch. But, how are they to know that a force darker than jealousy, stronger than love, and more gripping than freedom is working against them?


	21. XX.

{Sunday Evening}

“Thank you for letting me stay with you, hyung.” Baekhyun sets his suitcases in the guest bedroom in Junmyeon's apartment. “I don't want her to find me.”

“You're welcome, Baekhyun-ah. You can stay here for as long as you feel like you need to.”

“I feel like she's going to do something bad.”

“Something like what?”

“I don't know, but I've been with her for six years. Unfortunately, that means I've been privy to the way her mind works on many occasions, and it's a very dark place.”

“She is a very dark person.” Junmyeon sighs. “I've heard of many things that she's done over the years and prayed we would never have to deal with her. And now, not even one weekend in Seoul...” his voice trails off, and he shakes his head.

“I never thought she would do something like this.”

“None of us did. I feel for Jongdae as well. I can't imagine what he's going through.”

“The two of them were very close.” Baekhyun sighs and adds softly, “He and I were very good friends as well. He treated me like a younger brother. He always looked out for me.”

“I am truly sorry.” Junmyeon sighs. “I wish there was something I could do.”

“You're doing it, hyung, by letting me stay here.” Baekhyun smiles, and the older returns it, then the two settle in for the evening and talk about their lives before such a tragedy happened.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

{Monday}

Jimin, Jungkook, and Taehyung had been hiding out at their shared apartment since Sunday afternoon. They didn't want anyone coming after them, and Taehyung needed some consoling, since the director on the movie he was filming had gotten fired for sleeping with all of the female stars on the movie. That meant that until further notice, the movie was on hiatus. Taehyung was upset, so Jimin and Jungkook had both used everything in their arsenals of sexual experience to satisfy him in every way they possibly could.

This had continued into Monday morning, when they finally resurfaced to satiate their growling stomachs. Jimin had received a text from SiHyuk saying everything club-related for the day was cancelled since the police were going to be around investigating things, so he texted back a quick 'okay' and let Jungkook and Taehyung know.

“This is all so crazy,” Taehyung says after pouring a second bowl of cereal. “Someone was murdered less than twenty-four hours ago, right outside the place where the two of you work.”

“Don't remind me,” Jungkook murmurs from the other side of the table. “It makes me too sad. Do you think the police will need to ask us anything?”

“Probably.” Jimin downs the rest of his coffee and raises his arms above his head to stretch, not failing to notice the eyes of the other two men watching as his shirt rides up his toned stomach. “Jungkook-ah and I have the day off, and we should resurface before someone worries that we've gone missing.”

“But I want to go back to bed, hyung!” Jungkook sticks his lower lip out in a cute pout and wraps his arms around Jimin's waist. “Please?”

“No, Kookie-ah. We can't stay in bed and fuck all day when there's a murder investigation going on.” He turns in Jungkook's arms to grip the sides of his head and kiss him full on the lips.

Just as he pulls away, Taehyung comes up behind Jimin and presses against his back, his hands resting on his stomach and his lips grazing along his neck. “Are you sure?” His voice is deep, which makes Jimin shiver. Jungkook takes a cue from Taehyung and reaches a hand into the front of Jimin's boxers.

“If you think about it hyung, we have to do something to keep us busy until we're needed at the club.” Jimin moans as Jungkook's large hand wraps around his cock and pumps it slowly. “And you can't tell me you don't want a repeat of what Taehyung and I did last night.”

“Guys we can't,” Jimin gasps as Taehyung's hands slip into the back of his boxers to knead and massage his still-sore ass. (A/N: JIBOOTY~)

“Why not, Jimin?” Jungkook starts pumping Jimin's cock faster, and he throws his head back on Taehyung's shoulder.

“Because what if one of us gets a phone call while one of us is balls deep in the other?” Jimin's resolve is weakening, though. He'd never admit it freely, but he had realy loved what Jungkook did to him the night before.

“Well then, we'll just have to--” Taehyung's sentence is interrupted by someone's phone ringing.

“Mmh, that's mine...” Jimin reluctantly pulls away from between his two lovers and goes to fetch his phone. “Oh, Jin-hyung! Hi!” he says upon seeing who it is.

“Hi, Jimin-ah. You sound much too cheerful to have heard what's going on.”

“What? Has something else happened?” Seokjin fills him in on everything, and Jimin sinks into the chair that's conveniently behind him and almost drops his phone. “Oh my God.”

“Yeah. We're hoping Kyungsoo will track her down. Where have you been, anyway?”

“Oh, uh, Jungkook-ah, Taehyung, and I have been at home since yesterday evening.”

“Mm, I see.” Jimin thinks he can hear a hint of embarrassment in his hyung's voice, but it's gone in the next instant. “I'm just glad the three of you are okay. You might want to let Junmyeon-hyung know too, before the three of you get back to fucking like horny teenagers.” Jimin feels his face and ears turn a deep shade of red, which Jungkook takes notice of as he raises an eyebrow.

“I'll let him know, and I'll inform Taehyung and Jungkook-ah of what's going on.”

“Alright, Jimin-ah. Stay safe.”

“Thank you, hyung. You too.” He hangs up the phone and sets it on the table. Turning to the two young men in front of him, he says, “Apparently we miss a lot when we're, in Jin-hyung's words, fucking like horny teenagers.” Taehyung laughs, and Jungkook has the grace to look flustered. Jimin continues, “The Duchess went missing yesterday, and Yoongi-hyung employed a man named Do Kyungsoo to find her. And then, Yoongi-hyung tapped Jongdae-hyung's phone when the Duchess called him and tracked her down. He sent the information to Kyungsoo-hyung, and now they're waiting for him to find her and let everyone know that it's safe.”

“Hm. I've heard of Do Kyungsoo. He's very good at what he does.” Taehyung smiles and moves to sit in Jimin's lap. “Now, can we continue what we were in the middle of earlier?”

“Mm~ I need to tell Junmyeon-hyung that I'm okay.” Jimin sends a quick text to Junmyeon letting him know that he, Jungkook, and Taehyung are okay and that they're caught up on what's been happening, and then, the second he sets his phone down, Taehyung drags him into the bedroom.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I can't trust anyone anymore.” The Duchess sighs as she sets her phone down after speaking with Jongdae. “I can't trust my limo driver to dispose of the limo that I killed his brother in, and I can't trust Baekhyun to stay in my hotel room while I'm taking a nap. What ever shall I do now? Who can I trust?”

“You can trust me.”

“Do I know that for sure, though?” The Duchess raises an eyebrow.

“Yes, my dear. Of course. Have I ever once betrayed you?”

“Mm, no, you never have, not in all the years we've known each other. You've always been faithful, always been by my side, and never asked for anything in return. Why is that?”

“The answer is simple, Ara. It's because I love you unconditionally.” A smile and a gentle caress of her cheek make the Duchess's cheeks turn a shade of rosy pink.

“And I love you, too.” A gentle kiss is exchanged. “You're the only one whom I let call me by my first name. That's how you know I love you.” She laughs, a soft, melodic sound that's so different from the way she usually laughs that one would think it was a different person if they heard a recording of her.

“I know, love. Now, can we go over the plan one more time? I've been looking forward to it.”

“Of course, darling. If Jin won't come to me, I'm going to take him by force. That's where you come in. He lives at The Pi Ttam Nunmul in the apartments above the club, but he'll more than likely be staying with those other men, whatever their names are. I have pictures, and of course I'll give them to you. I need you to retrieve him and bring him to me by whatever means necessary. Just make sure he is unharmed.”

“Consider it done, my love. I think I know exactly how I'm going to do it.”

“Mm, may I be privy to that little detail? You know how hearing about things like that turns me on.”

“But of course.” Words of seduction and abduction are whispered in the Duchess's ear, and she gasps.

“Oh my.” She squirms in her seat. “Come to me now, come join me in my bed. My love, my rock, my everything.” The two lovers retire to the Duchess's bedroom, bound in love and in the promise that she is finally going to get exactly what she wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all might kill me when you find out who the mystery person is~


	22. XXI.

“How am I going to get in there?” Kyungsoo asks his protege, Sehun. “That man has been in there with her for hours.”

“Wait until he leaves?” Sehun asks as he runs a hand through his short orange hair. “It wouldn't be the first time we've waited like this.”

“That's true, Sehun-ah. It's a good thing we brought coffee.” The two share a soft laugh from their hiding place situated conveniently outside the apartment the Duchess is in with her lover.

“Wait a minute, he looks familiar,” Sehun mutters. “Hyung, would you mind letting me have a better view?”

“Of course.” Kyungsoo maneuvers to give Sehun a better viewpoint, and once the younger can see, he widens his eyes.

“Oh my God. I know exactly who that is.”

“Are you sure?” Kyungsoo cranes his neck so he can see better, and he pulls out his tablet then taps the screen a few times. Then, a second later, a view of the main room of the apartment comes into view. There's a nice leather couch with matching arm chairs, a dark wood coffee table with a vase of roses in the center and two coffee mugs sitting near the edge, and the floor is dark, shiny hardwood. There's an expensive rug on the floor in front of the fireplace, and lying naked on a blanket are two figures, a male and a female. The female is the Duchess.

The male is none other than Bang SiHyuk.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hello?” Yoongi is in the middle of his third beer, so he's in a good mood as he answers his phone.

“Hi, Yoongi-yah. I'm sorry to call so late, but what I have to tell you is extremely urgent.”

“Hi, Kyungsoo-hyung! Did you catch the Duchess? I started the celebrations a little early.” Just then, Hoseok returns from the bathroom wearing nothing but black boxer briefs that show off his toned, muscular body and an unbuttoned white shirt. Yoongi beckons him closer and smirks as his boyfriend whips the shirt off of his body and tosses it aside.

“Not quite.” Kyungsoo sounds distressed, so Yoongi takes note of this and sits forward, trying to clear his head.

“What's the matter?” He holds a hand up to stop Hoseok, who pouts and sits next to him.

“Well, I don't know how to tell you this.” Kyungsoo pauses for a moment, and Yoongi is just about to ask him again when he continues. “The Duchess is with a male lover in an apartment, I'm not sure yet whether it's hers or his. I requested the information.” A short pause. “I just heard back. It's under a fake female name, so I can only assume it's hers. Anyway, I have my protege Sehun-ah with me, who, as you probably remember, recently got a job at The Pi Ttam Nunmul.”

“Yes, I briefly met Sehun, but what does that have to do with anything?” Yoongi finishes his beer and reaches for another.

“Sehun recognized the man the Duchess is with. It's none other than Bang SiHyuk, the owner of The Pi Ttam Nunmul.”

Yoongi drops the bottle of beer on the floor and then sinks to his knees, not caring that he's getting soaked in beer and cut with broken glass. “Wh-what? Are you kidding me, hyung?”

“No. I wish I was. I don't know how to proceed.”

“I don't know either. Call my father and talk to him. He might know something.” Hoseok rushes to his side and lifts him out of the mess on the floor.

“Alright. I'll wait until the morning, though, as it's already midnight. Don't tell anyone who works there yet, please.”

“I won't, hyung. Don't worry. Be safe.”

“You too, Yoongi-yah. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” He ends the call and then pulls away from Hoseok to slam his fist into the wall. “Shit!!” he yells at the top of his lungs.

“Yoongi-hyung, what? What happened?” Hoseok wraps his arms protectively around the older and holds him tightly. Yoongi deflates and lets Hoseok pull him to the bathroom so he can clean his cuts.

Yoongi sits heavily on the edge of the bathtub and talks as Hoseok begins cleaning blood and beer off of his skin. “It's the Duchess. She has a lover. It's Bang SiHyuk. And Kyungsoo-hyung doesn't want anyone who works at The Pi Ttam Nunmul to know until he figures out what he's going to do.”

“Holy shit.” Hoseok's eyes widen and he looks up from what he's doing. He's about to say something else when footsteps are heard, and Seokjin steps into the bathroom.

“What's going on?” he asks tiredly. He snaps to attention when he sees Yoongi's legs. “Hyung, what happened?”

“Oh, I dropped a beer bottle and then slipped and fell on my knees. I'm okay.”

“Is that what the yelling and banging was?” Seokjin asks, hovering in the doorway and wringing his hands together.

“Yes, Seokjin-ah. I was frustrated because I couldn't believe I did such a clumsy thing.”

“Ah. I'm just glad you're okay.” Seokjin smiles softly as he turns to walk out, and then he turns back. “Um, one more thing. Has Kyungsoo-hyung caught the Duchess yet?”

“He's working on it. Go back to sleep, Seokjin-ah. With what I heard coming from Namjoon-hyung's bedroom earlier, you need it.”

Seokjin's face turns beet red as he mumbles, “G'night hyung, g'night Hoseok-ah~” and he hurriedly walks out of the bathroom.

“What are we going to do?” Hoseok asks as soon as Seokjin is out of earshot, and he busies himself with doctoring Yoongi's legs.

“I don't know. I really don't.” Yoongi rubs his temples. “We'll see when Kyungsoo-hyung talks to my father tomorrow. Until then, I guess there's nothing we can do but wait.”

“Yeah.” Hoseok finishes up and puts the first aid kit away, and then he washes his hands. Neither of them speak for a long moment. Hoseok slowly dries his hands and then says, “We should probably go to bed. We don't know what's going to happen, but either way, we need our sleep.”

“You're right. Sleep sounds good.” Yoongi's eyes droop, and Hoseok helps him up and supports him so the two can walk to their bedroom. They immediately climb into bed, and while Yoongi promptly falls asleep, Hoseok sneaks out to clean up the mess in the kitchen. Once he's back in bed, he stares up at the ceiling for a long time, thinking through all the possible scenarios and outcomes before falling into a troubled sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, Namjoon and Seokjin can't keep their hands off of each other while they eat their cereal. Seokjin doesn't feel much like cooking, because he and Namjoon had been up to some serious kinky fuckery the night before. Yoongi has a hangover so he's dragging his feet getting ready for work, and Hoseok already left, having been asked to be at his job early.

“Jinnie, we should go somewhere tonight. I want to have a real date with you. What do you think of that?” Namjoon has his arms wrapped around his lover's waist and is gently peppering his neck with kisses, having finished his cereal, and is waiting for Seokjin to finish.

“Mm~ I think that sounds perfect, Joonie. Can I pick the restaurant?” Seokjin leans back into the older's embrace and rests his head on his shoulder.

“Of course, my lo- my lovely Jinnie.” Namjoon catches himself before he can finish saying 'my love'. He kisses Seokjin full on the lips, and the two melt into each other, Seokjin's cereal forgotten as Namjoon lifts him and sets him on the table so he can cover every inch of his exposed skin with kisses.

“Oh God, get a room,” Yoongi grumbles as he shuffles into the kitchen. Namjoon steps back, rubbing the back of his neck, and Seokjin hops down from the table, pulling his t-shirt down to hide his boner.

“Aish, nine already? I have to leave for work. It's my first day!” Namjoon says excitedly, smiling to show his dimples which, of course, Seokjin just has to kiss.

“Alright Joonie, I don't want to make you late. I hope you have a wonderful day.” He lays a hand on the older's cheek and gives him a chaste kiss on the lips, and Yoongi, even through the fog that's hanging over his mind, can see that they already look like an old married couple. He smiles to himself as he pours coffee into his large travel tumbler and grabs a banana and a granola bar.

“I'll see you two later. Have a good day Namjoon-hyung. Seokjin, I can drop you off at The Pi Ttam Nunmul on my way to work.”

“Ah, thank you! Let me get dressed.” Seokjin rushes off to Namjoon's bedroom, and Namjoon walks closer to Yoongi.

“I'm going to tell Seokjin I love him tonight,” he murmurs quietly. “I know it's soon, but it feels right.”

“No, it's not soon at all. I knew I loved Hoseok within an hour of meeting him.” Yoongi winks as he pats Namjoon on the shoulder.

“I'm ready!” Seokjin says as he walks out of the room, shrugging his jacket on over his light pink t-shirt and slipping his phone into his pocket. The three leave the house, not without one more kiss being exchanged between Namjoon and Seokjin, and go their separate ways. 

When Yoongi is driving to the club though, he remembers Kyungoo's words from the night before. His grip on the wheel tightens, and he briefly debates whether he should actually let Seokjin go to the club. If SiHyuk can't be trusted, there's no telling what could happen.

“Hyung, is something wrong?” Seokjin asks, sensing how tense Yoongi is.

Yoongi blinks a few times and loosens his grip on the steering wheel. “No, I just thought I forgot something.” A few moments later, he pulls up to the front of the club. “Here we are. I'll see you later?”

“Thank you for driving me~ Yes, I'll see you later.” Seokjin beams as he gets out of the car and goes into the club.

Yoongi's phone rings and the screen lights up with Kyungsoo's name. “Hello?”

“Hi, Yoongi-yah. I talked to your father. You won't like what he had to say.”

Yoongi, who had just started driving, pulls over again. “What is it?”

“He said we should leave them be and not attempt to bring the Duchess to justice.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Yoongi growls.

“I wish I was, Yoongi-yah. I wish I was.”

“I'm sorry for cursing so much. This just frustrates me.”

“It does me, too. And it's alright. I know. And I might have an idea.”


	23. XXII.

SiHyuk spends the day in his office at The Pi Ttam Nunmul, which leaves Junmyeon to watch over rehearsals and talk to any police officers that come by. Most of the investigations had been done the day before, though; the case is pretty open-and-shut. They just need to catch the Duchess and bring her in. Of course, they don't know what the others do, about her being involved with SiHyuk. No one within the club knows as the days go on and rehearsals (somewhat slowly) commence.

Jimin is walking a bit funny and winces every time he does certain moves, and Jungkook can hardly dance without making pained faces. “Okay, stop!” Junmyeon yells above the music and makes a cutting motion with his arms. Once the upbeat music has stopped, he steps closer to the stage. “Jimin-ah, Jungkook-ah, what's the matter with the two of you? You're acting as if you got hit by a truck.”

“Ah, um...” Jimin makes awkward motions with his hands. “You see--”

“Wait. Say no more. I think I know what happened.” Junmyeon rolls his eyes. “Pull yourselves together please. Now let's take it from the top.” He nods to the music technician, who waits for the dancers to get into their starting positions before playing the song from the beginning.

Meanwhile, Seokjin can't stop thinking about Namjoon. He goes through the motions of rehearsal, and then he immediately goes to check his phone for any texts when it's break time. He smiles widely seeing one from Namjoon.

DaddyJoonie: Hi, my Jinnie. I hope you're having a good day. I miss you.

PrincessJinnie: Hi, Joonie! We kept having to stop rehearsals because Jimin-ah and Jungkook-ah were apparently too rough with each other last night and are having trouble keeping up with choreography. There are also still a couple of police officers still poking around.

DaddyJoonie: The police officers should hopefully be done soon. And uh, I didn't need to know that about Jimin-ah and Jungkook-ah. How are you holding up, though? Because I wasn't exactly easy on you last night...

PrincessJinnie: I'm okay. I'm not moving very easily either, but somehow I'm better off than they are.

DaddyJoonie: I'm glad, Jinnie. I don't want you hurt.

DaddyJoonie: Well, not hurt in ways that you don't like.

PrincessJinnie: Joonie, you're making me blush in front of everyone~ How is your first day going?

DaddyJoonie: It's going pretty well. I'm mostly doing paperwork and file sorting, but my boss says I'll have my first official assignment within this week.

PrincessJinnie: Ah, I'm so excited for you! And Junmyeon-hyung is calling us back for more rehearsals. I'll talk to you later?

DaddyJoonie: I'm already looking forward to it. And I'm so looking forward to seeing you tonight. I have the perfect restaurant picked out. I'll text you the address.

PrincessJinnie: I want to be surprised, so don't tell me the name of it! I'll talk to you soon~

Seokjin sets his phone down and, after taking one more drink of water, goes back to join the others. After he's onstage again, his phone pings again with a message from Namjoon containing the address for the restaurant. What he doesn't know is that SiHyuk has snuck out of his office through a secret passageway, seen the message, and copied down the address.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taehyung got to sleep in because since his movie got cancelled, he didn't have anywhere to be. He couldn't take advantage of it, though, because all night, he was plagued by dreams of Seokjin getting kidnapped. After deciding he couldn't sleep anymore and taking a few minutes to write down everything he could remember about his dreams, he called Junmyeon.

“Hello?” Junmyeon answers somewhat tiredly.

“Hi, Junmyeon-hyung. I can't shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen to Seokjin-hyung.”

“Oh, hi Taehyung-ah! What kind of terrible thing are you talking about?”

“Well, all night, I was haunted by dreams of him getting kidnapped. I think that if the Duchess can't get him to come willingly, she'll bring him to her by any means necessary.”

“Oh my God. Are you sure, Tae?” Junmyeon sounds worried. He has no reason to doubt Taehyung, because any time he's had dreams like that in the past, they've come true.

“Yes, hyung. I don't know how, when, or where she'll do it, but I think it'll be soon. In my dreams, it happened in different ways. I dreamed of her doing it, in one dream she had help, in another someone else did it. I saw different ways of her doing it, too. Gunpoint, chloroform, bribery.” He sighs. “I wish I still worked there. Then maybe I could help to protect him.”

“Taehyung-ah, he's surrounded by people right now. We'll make sure he's not alone for even one second today. If you'd like, though, you can come to he club and help keep an eye on him under the guise of hanging out with Jungkook-ah and Jimin-ah who, by the way, are moving like they got hit by a truck.”

“I'm sorry hyung,” he mumbles. Then, more clearly, he says “I'll be there soon.”

“I'll tell everyone to be vigilant, starting with our sunbae-nim. He'll take extra measures to make sure our Seokjin-ah is safe. See you in a bit, Taehyung-ah.”

“Okay. See you, Junmyeon-hyung.” Taehyung ends the call, already feeling relaxed because he knows that no one that Seokjin is with right now will want to hurt him in any way.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There's a soft knock on SiHyuk's door, and he quickly puts his phone face down on his desk before calling out. “Come in.”

“Hi, sunbae-nim,” Junmyeon says upon entering. “May I talk to you for a moment?”

“Yes, Junmyeon-ah, of course.” He motions to the chairs in front of his desk, and Junmyeon sits in one after thanking him. “Is everything alright?”

“Well, I'm not sure. Do you remember how Taehyung-ah can sense when bad things are going to happen?”

“Yes, I do. Why? Has he gotten a feeling about something?” SiHyuk's eyes widen.

“Yes, he has.” He repeats everything Taehyung told him, and he thinks he sees the older's eyes flash with boredom for a brief moment as he finishes. “So, we have to make sure Seokjin-ah isn't alone.”

“Mm, thank you for telling me.” SiHyuk keeps the expression on his face neutral but knits his brows together to appear concerned. “We will be ever vigilant to keep our Seokjin-ah safe.”

“I know. Thank you, sunbae-nim.” Junmyeon smiles warmly, clearly looking and feeling relieved, and SiHyuk feels a pang of guilt until he remembers everything that's in it for him if he pulls this off.

“You're welcome.” He smiles coolly as he gestures to a random folder he hadn't looked at in three days, but Junmyeon doesn't know that.. “I have some things to get back to. If anything else happens, please let me know.”

“Of course, of course.” Junmyeon stands and bows deeply before exiting SiHyuk's office and closing the door behind him.

SiHyuk counts to thirty and then picks up his phone again. “I'm sorry, Ara. Junmyeon-ah needed to speak with me. Did you hear everything he said?” He smiles at the screen where his lover's beautiful face is smiling back at him.

“I did. And did you get the address?”

“Yes, madam. I have it written down.” He holds up a small piece of paper that he takes out of his pocket, and then he grins. “This is going to go perfectly.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Yes, mother. Yes, I've finished talking with the police. I've called the funeral home, and they said they would get in touch with you. I can't do more than that, because you and father were his legal guardians. If I need to meet you there, I will. Okay. Yes, ma'am. I love you too.” Jongdae sets his phone down gently and takes another drink of coffee. Across from him, Baekhyun looks at him worriedly.

“Jongdae-hyung, I'm worried about you. You didn't sleep at all last night.” 

“How do you know that?” Junmyeon asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, that's your fourth cup of coffee, there are dark circles under your eyes, you're wearing two different socks, and your shirt isn't buttoned correctly.”

“Can I be frank with you, Baekhyun-ah?” The younger nods, and Jongdae continues, “I don't care how I look.”

“I figured as much.” Baekhyun reaches across to briefly squeeze his hyung's hand. “Do you know if they've gotten any closer to catching the Duchess?”

“No, I haven't heard anything. Let me call Yoongi and see if there's been an update.” He dials Yoongi's number, and, after three rings, he answers.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Yoongi-yah. It's Jongdae.”

“Oh, hi hyung. I'm still at work, so I can't talk long, but I'm almost done. Is everything okay?”

“Well, Baekhyun-ah and I were just wondering if there had been any update on the capture of the Duchess.”

There's a long pause, and then Yoongi sighs heavily. “I should tell you this in person. Where are you?”

“Baekhyun-ah and I are at the Starbucks down the street from The Pi Ttam Nunmul.”

“Okay. Give me fifteen minutes, and I'll meet you there. Order me a large black coffee with three sugars, if you don't mind. I'll pay you back.”

“Of course, hyung. I'll see you soon.” The line goes dead, and Jongdae blinks a few times before setting his phone down and looking at an expectant Baekhyun.

“Well?”

“He says he has something to tell us but it has to be done in person. He'll be here soon.” He stands from the table he and Baekhyun are sitting at to place Yoongi's order, and it's ready relatively quickly. He asks them to keep it warm until Yoongi gets there, which he does a few minutes later.

“Hi, Junmyeon-hyung and Baekhyun-ah.” Yoongi greets each of them in turn before retrieving his coffee and joining them at the table. “There's no easy way to say this, so I'm going to get right to it.” He takes a long swig of his coffee before setting the cup down. “The Duchess has a lover, and it appears she has for a while. It's Bang SiHyuk.”

“What?!” Baekhyun and Jongdae say in unison.

“Are you sure?” Jongdae asks desperately, praying it isn't actually true.

“How do you know?” Baekhyun narrows his eyes suspiciously.

“Yes, I'm sure. Kyungsoo-hyung and Sehun-ah, one of the newest dancers at The Pu Ttam Nunmul and Kyungsoo-hyung's protege, saw them together. My father doesn't want Kyungsoo-hyung to do anything about catching her, but we have a plan.” He leans forward, motioning for the other two men to do the same, and begins to lay out the plan that Kyungsoo had told him earlier. A slow smile breaks out across Baekhyun's face.

“Are you okay with that?” Yoongi asks him.

“Absolutely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to think I should break this up into two books. What do y'all think?


	24. XXIII.

“Do you have everything ready?” The Duchess purrs.

“Yes, my love. I got the tranquilizer, the van you had sent to me is ready to go, I have blankets and such to make sure he's not injured while he's unconscious in the back, and I know where he'll be tonight. The only thing I don't know is when Seokjin-ah will be at the restaurant, but I will go and wait for him, no matter how long it takes.” SiHyuk smiles at his phone screen where the Duchess is gazing back at him.

“Good, good. I'm so glad to hear that, SiHyuk. I knew you would be on top of it! How soon are you going to leave?” the Duchess asks eagerly.

“As soon as I finish the paperwork to hand over ownership of the club to Junmyeon. Then, we can disappear without worry.”

“I can't wait, my love. It's going to be amazing when we can finally be together. And when I have my Jin.” She smiles widely, her eyes bright, and SiHyuk gazes lovingly at her.

“It really is. I have just a bit more paperwork to sign, and then I'm going to head over to the restaurant. Junmyeon never has to know a thing, just that I'm retiring and moving to the country. He'll be grateful to have the club. He's been eyeing it for years.”

“I know you care about the club, SiHyuk. Junmyeon seems like a capable man and will take good care of it with you and Jin gone.” The Duchess's words are kind, because SiHyuk is the only man she feels deserves her kindness. On the surface, anyway. In reality, she doesn't give a flying fuck what happens to the club after he leaves. But she'd never tell him that, of course.

“Thank you, my dear Ara. I will see you soon.”

“I'm already looking forward to it!” The Duchess says as she blows a kiss into the phone, and SiHyuk returns the gesture before their video call ends. “Idiot.” The Duchess murmurs to herself as she sets her phone down. “Now how am I going to get rid of him?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I'm so glad I brought extra clothes!” Seokjin says excitedly to Jimin as he changes into a fresh button-down shirt – light pink, of course – with black slacks and black dress shoes. “I don't want to meet my Joonie looking like a hot mess.”

“Hyung, did you just say hot mess?” Jimin laughs, looking up from massaging Jungkook's thighs.

“Yes I did, Jimin-ah.” He pokes his tongue out at the other and then rolls his eyes seeing the way Jungkook is still wincing in pain. “I told you, fucking like horny teenagers all the time isn't a good thing!” He ruffles Jimin's hair as he walks to the shelf beside his wardrobe to spritz some cologne on his collarbone and his wrists.

“Aish hyung, you're so vulgar! Taehyung needed consoling after his movie went on hiatus--”

“So you thought your dick would make a good consolation prize?” Seokjin raises an eyebrow as he combs his hair, and Jimin only blushes, looking down to hide his face. Seokjin grins. “That's what I thought. I'm leaving, but I'll see you guys later!” he sings as he practically skips down the hallway and exits the club. He's about to hail a taxi when Yoongi pulls up to the curb. “Oh, hi hyung! What are you doing here?”

“Ah, hi Seokjin-ah. I just got off of work and thought I would come drive you to the restaurant.” He unlocks the door so the younger can get in, which he does with a smile.

“Thank you, Yoongi-hyung!” Seokjin buckles in and closes the door, and Yoongi starts driving again.

“You're welcome.” He reaches across to squeeze the younger's thigh before placing his hand back on the wheel. Seokjin rattles off the address from his phone, along with random drabble about his day, the rehearsals, and how excited he is about seeing Namjoon. Yoongi listens to every word, smiling warmly at the younger's excitement, but he can't shake a sudden feeling he has that something is about to go terribly wrong. 

Because that's the way it always works, isn't it? Just when things seem like they're finally going right, something or someone comes along and messes everything up.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Namjoon pulls up to the restaurant just before it gets dark outside. He unbuttons his suit jacket and texts Seokjin as he walks up to the building. A car pulls up next to him right as he's about to press the send button, and he hears his lover's voice a moment later.

“Joonie!” He smiles widely as he runs up the older and embraces him. “I missed you today!”

“Mm, my Jinnie.” He wraps his arms securely around Seokjin's waist and hugs him close. “I missed you, too.” He looks over the younger's shoulder to see Yoongi leaning slightly out of his window. “Hi, Yoongi-yah. Thank you for driving him here!”

“You're welcome, hyung. Watch over him closely, okay? I have a bad feeling that the Duchess isn't going to stay quiet for long.”

“I'll keep a very close eye on him, hyung. Don't worry.” Namjoon is all smiles as he gently takes Seokjin's hand and leads him in to the restaurant.

“Okay. I'll see the two of you later.” He winks at the couple as he rolls his window back up and pulls out of the parking lot. He purposely doesn't tell them about SiHyuk and the Duchess, because Kyungsoo's plan is foolproof. The final details had been ironed out with Baekhyun that afternoon. Basically, the plan is that Kyungsoo and Yoongi are going to corner SiHyuk in his office to try to talk to him, and Jongdae and Baekhyun are going to track down the Duchess and make it seem like they found her because they were so desperate to see her again. Then, Baekhyun is going to seduce her while Jongdae goes through her things and sees what he can find out. It's perfect. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

The only thing they don't account for is SiHyuk not being in his office. They don't realize that until an hour after Yoongi has left the restaurant and pulls up to the club. He sees Kyungsoo sitting in his car bent over a device and furiously typing into it.

Yoongi knocks on the car window. “Hyung? What's going on?”

“Oh, hi Yoongi. Thank goodness you're here.” He motions for him to get into the car. When he's seated and the door is closed, he sighs heavily. “SiHyuk isn't here. No one is here.”

“What?! Then where is he?” Yoongi clenches his hands into fists.

“That's what I'm trying to find out.” Kyungsoo nods to the device in his hands. “I'm working on narrowing down a location based on his cell phone signal, but it's bouncing off of a few different towers.” He enlarges the area on the screen. “See here. The things in the middle of these three cell towers are four restaurants, a movie theater, a park, a bowling alley, a strip club, and what I'm guessing is a karaoke bar.”

Yoongi frowns at the screen. The street names seem vaguely familiar, but he can't place his finger on why. “That's a lot of different places for him to potentially be,” he muses. “How do you narrow it down?”

“That's what I'm trying to do now. Thankfully, he stopped moving awhile ago.” He presses more keys, and the shaded triangular area on the screen grows smaller. “Ah, here. He's either in this restaurant, the strip club, or the bowling alley.”

“Wait.” Yoongi leans closer, and it dawns on him why the street names look familiar. It's because he was just there. “There.” He points to one restaurant. “That's where Namjoon-hyung and Seokjin-ah are. Shit. We have to go now.” Kyungsoo doesn't give him time to buckle in before he's set the device in Yoongi's lap and sped out of the parking lot to drive to the restaurant. All the while, Yoongi kicks himself for not telling Namjoon and Seokjin about SiHyuk and the Duchess.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Namjoon and Seokjin walk into the building hand in hand, not even separating when the hostess directs them to a table. They make their drink orders – water for both of them, because they want no distractions from each other – and settle in to a conversation about their days. Again, Namjoon is struck by the fact that he could listen to quite literally anything Seokjin says and be completely enthralled by it. After a few moments, though, there's a lull in the conversation. Namjoon is about to speak up when Seokjin looks over his shoulder in surprise.

“Sunbae-nim! Hello!” He waves to his boss, who just happens to be sitting a few tables away from them. The older male looks up and sees Seokjin, and he waves back as the younger stands and walks over to the table. “I'm surprised to see you out of your office.” he says good-naturedly.

“Ah, hi Seokjin-ah. I gave myself the night off tonight.” He looks meaningfully down at the paperwork in front of him. “Now, if you'll please excuse me.”

“Yes, sunbae-nim. Just one quick thing, if you don't mind.” He waits until he has SiHyuk's attention again before continuing. “Yoongi-hyung thinks the Duchess isn't going to stay quiet for long and that I need to be on the lookout. She wants me, and so I was thinking, who better to help look after me than my boss?” He smiles cheerfully, and SiHyuk smiles and nods in return.

“Of course I'll protect you, Seokjin-ah. I'll do everything I can to keep you safe from people you don't belong with.” From where Namjoon is sitting, he can tell that SiHyuk is choosing his words carefully, but he doesn't have time to mull it over before he and Seokjin exchange a bow and the younger walks back to the table.

“What a strange coincidence, running into him here.” Seokjin shrugs and takes a sip of his water. “Ah well, that's one less worry off my mind.” Their food comes a moment later – a rather large plate of noodles with sauce for Seokjin, and a more modestly sized bowl of kimchi for Namjoon – and the two eat while talking about what else they might do that evening. Again, when there's a lull in the conversation, Namjoon makes a motion to speak up when Seokjin interrupts him. “Ah, I'm sorry hyung, please excuse me.” He stands from the table and bows before walking in the direction of the restrooms. What Namjoon fails to notice is that SiHyuk follows him seconds afterward.

He waits for Seokjin to come out of one of the stalls and is at the sink washing his hands before he comes out of the other stall and walks up behind him. “Hello, Seokjin. Fancy meeting you here.” In a movement too fast for Seokjin to make notice of, SiHyuk pulls a syringe out of his pocket and sticks it into the younger's neck, immediately emptying its contents and waiting for the boy to go limp in his arms. He drags him out of the rarely used back door and to the awaiting van.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter was really hard for me to write~


	25. XXIV.

Yoongi and Kyungsoo pull into the parking lot, and Yoongi rips open the car door so he can dash into the building. Upon seeing Namjoon alone, he runs up to him, wild-eyed and panting. “Namjoon-hyung, where is Seokjin-ah?”

“He went to the restroom, though he's been gone for a while.” He frowns. “What's wrong?”

“I should have told you this sooner.” He sinks to his knees and motions Kyungsoo towards the restroom as he runs in. “The Duchess and Bang SiHyuk are involved romantically. They might be plotting something together against Seokjin.”

“What?!” Namjoon exclaims as he glares at Yoongi. “And you didn't think that was important enough to tell either one of us?”

“I'm sorry hyung, I really am. I'm so sorry.” Yoongi has tears in his eyes now. “I didn't tell you because Kyungsoo-hyung had a plan that was foolproof, until we realized SiHyuk wasn't at the club. We tracked him to this very restaurant.” He looks around the main room, ignoring the strange looks people are giving them. “Is he here?”

“Yes, he's right over--” he starts to point in the direction of SiHyuk's table, only to realize no one is there. “No. No!” He rises from the table, knocking the whole thing over in the process, when Kyungsoo comes out of the restroom looking sorrowful.

“There's no one in there.”

Yoongi rises from the floor, angrily wiping tears from his eyes. “Can you track his cell phone like you did before?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head and and holds up two black rectangular objects. “These are their phones. They were in the trash can. I can't track either of them.”

Namjoon feels his knees give out and sinks to the floor, buries his face in his hands, and starts sobbing while Yoongi calls the police. Kyungsoo carefully sets both phones on a table, not wanting to touch them any further.

A waitress brings him a glass of water, and he thanks her distractedly. The same waitress hands Yoongi a glass of water as well and helps Namjoon off of the floor so she can clean up the mess he made. He thanks her in a low murmur as she sits him at the table across from Kyungsoo and sets a mug of coffee in front of him a moment later.

When the mess is cleaned up and the police have arrived, they spend a few hours questioning everyone, going over security footage, and obtaining SiHyuk's phone. By the time everyone can go home, it's well past midnight. Namjoon hasn't stopped crying, Yoongi's voice has gone raw from apologizing to him, and Kyungsoo remains stoic and determined. When Yoongi and Namjoon have arrived back at their house, Namjoon sinks onto the sofa.

“I didn't even get to tell him that I love him.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Seokjin finally wakes up, he finds himself surrounded and covered by blankets in the back of a van. He sits up, rubs his eyes, and groggily looks to see who's driving the van. “Sunbae-nim?!” He exclaims. “What's going on?”

“Shit, you weren't supposed to be awake yet,” he grumbles.

“Hi, Jin.” The Duchess turns around to look at him from the passenger seat. “You and I are going to have so much fun together.” She chuckles, and Seokjin feels his panic rising.

“What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere with you, you crazy bitch!” he yells. “I would rather die.”

“Oh, that's too bad then, because I'm not going to kill you. You're far too handsome and talented. I told you I wanted you to be exclusively mine, and now you finally can be! Isn't it wonderful?” She laughs again, and SiHyuk joins in this time, making Seokjin look over to him.

“How could you betray me like this, sunbae-nim? Betray the club, and everyone who works for you? Did you ever care about any of us at all?”

“It's really quite simple,” SiHyuk begins. “Of course I cared. But I love her, she loves me, and she promised me a very financially secure future if I did this for her. How could I say no to that?” He shrugs indifferently.

“But--”

“Rest your voice, baby.” The Duchess smirks as she turns back around and turns the music up, some sappy ballad that Seokjin thinks he heard in a drama somewhere. Seokjin can't see the clock on the dashboard because it's covered up, so he has no idea how long they drive for. All he knows is that they're no longer in Seoul, and he has no phone. The silence is broken only by the radio and soft murmurs of the Duchess and SiHyuk in the front.

'How am I going to get out of this?' Seokjin searches his mind for some kind of solution, even quietly trying the doors, only to find that they're locked. He has no way out. He draws his knees up to his chest and rests his forehead on them, whispering “I love you, my Joonie, please save me.” over and over, like a prayer.

Somewhere along the way, Seokjin falls into a fitful asleep, still hugging his knees. They drive until it's just starting to become light outside, and they park in front of a surprisingly humble-looking house. Seokjin wakes up and winces as he stretches out his wound-up body. His face is wet with tears, and he realizes that he was crying in his sleep. Neither of them cared enough to wake him up and make sure he was okay, which shouldn't have been that surprising, but it hurt him nonetheless.

“Seokjin-ah, when we get out of this van, you're not going to run. You will not scream. Or I will make sure you're unconscious again. Do you understand me?” SiHyuk's voice is soft but threatening, and it strikes Seokjin to the core, making him tremble as he nods, unable to find his voice. The Duchess gets out first, stretches a little, and heads into the house. SiHyuk gets out next and goes around to the side of the van to open the door and let Seokjin out. 

“Where are we?” Seokjin gets the courage to ask, though his voice is soft and hoarse.

“Somewhere no one will never find you.”

Seokjin starts to cry again as he's led into the house and into a room at the end of a hallway. It's rather plain, with beige walls and brown carpet, has the basic furniture one would expect to see in a bedroom, and its own bathroom. The windows are barred, and the door locks from the outside. “You should get some sleep.” SiHyuk speaks gruffly before pushing Seokjin into the bedroom and shutting the door. Too weak and tired to protest or even look to see if there are different clothes, Seokjin lies down on the bed and brings his shirt up to his nose. It smells like Namjoon, and it makes him cry even harder as he curls up in a ball and forces himself to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You can't blame yourself,” says Hoseok for what feels like the hundredth time since Yoongi and Namjoon got home. Yoongi is pacing back and forth across their bedroom, hands fisted in his hair and muttering about how it's his fault, how he shouldn't have listened to Kyungsoo and told everyone about SiHyuk, about how he'll never be able to forget the utterly lost look Namjoon had in his eyes when he went to bed. “You thought what Kyungsoo-hyung told you was for the best. You admire him and look up to him, so of course you went along with what he said.”

Finally, Yoongi sits on the edge of the bed and bows forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, ragged cries spilling from his lips. “But I shouldn't have listened, Hoseokie. I really fucking shouldn't have.”

Hoseok knows Yoongi is bad off when he calls him 'Hoseokie'. It speaks of a rawness and vulnerability that Yoongi never shows. He moves behind his boyfriend and wraps his arms around his waist, feeling him tense for a moment before almost pushing back against the younger and crying harder. Suddenly Yoongi's phone starts ringing, but he doesn't move to answer it, so Hoseok does instead after seeing Jongdae's name on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Um, hi, Hoseok?”

“Yes, this is Hoseok. Hi Jongdae-hyung. I'm guessing you heard what happened.”

“Um, unless you're talking about our end of the plan going perfectly, I have no idea.”

“Shit.” Hoseok sighs and runs a hand through his still bright orange hair. “The Duchess and Bang SiHyuk have a romantic thing going on. They kidnapped Seokjin-hyung tonight.”

“What?!” Jongdae exclaims loudly. Hoseok hears a muffled voice asking what's going on, and Jongdae relays what Hoseok just told him. There's a mild scuffling noise and Baekhyun's voice comes through a moment later.

“So you mean to tell me I seduced that evil bitch for nothing?” He sounds angry, which makes Hoseok's anger levels rise as well.

“Excuse me, but we have more important things to worry about than the fact that you had sex with that psychotic woman. Seokjin is missing, and that's all you're worried about?” Hoseok's voice raises. “Do you even fucking care?! Or are you just so sexually frustrated that you--” his tirade is cut off when Yoongi yanks the phone out of his hand, making the younger wrap his arms around his waist and bury his face in his neck.

Yoongi holds him close and brings his phone to his other ear. “Hi, Baekhyun-ah. I'm sorry that you had to have sex with her for nothing, but Hoseok is right. Did Jongdae at least find anything useful in her belongings?”

“I'll let him tell you.” Baekhyun mutters angrily as there's a shuffling noise before Jongdae's voice comes through.

“Hi, Yoongi-yah. I went through everything I could think of, including her phone, laptop, and tablet, but all I found was shady-looking transaction information for where she bought some sort of vehicle. I think it's a van. I also found receipts and paperwork for what looks like a rather large quantity of a drug used as a tranquilizer. I took pictures of everything and forwarded the digital transaction information to myself.”

“Wow, she left all that lying around in the open?” Yoongi asks, surprised.

“Yeah. She never has had a password on anything, and she doesn't believe in keeping things like that from me or Baekhyun-ah.”

“I would call her stupid for that, but it worked out in our favor.” Hoseok finally separates from Yoongi and sits heavily on the edge of the bed, and Yoongi sits down next to him. “Can you send the information to me as well?”

“Of course. I'll do it after we hang up. We all need sleep.”

“Yeah,” Yoongi sighs. “Thank you, hyung.”

“You're welcome. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” He ends the call and turns his attention to his boyfriend with a wry smirk on his face. “I can't believe you talked to Baekhyun-ah that way.”

“I'm sorry hyung, my emotions were heightened, and the way he said that made something snap inside me, and I'm just so worried about Seokjin-hyung.”

“I'm not angry. I'm proud of my baby for standing up for Seokjin-ah like that.”

“Your baby?” Hoseok smiles. “You never call me that.”

“Well, I need to change that then, don't I?” Yoongi kisses the younger, on each corner of his mouth, his eyelids, his forehead, his nose, and finally his lips. “My baby.” Hoseok presses closer to Yoongi, and they share a passionate kiss before all of their energy and adrenaline from earlier drains from their bodies with a quickness neither of them expected.

“I love you, Yoongi-hyung.”

“I love you too, my Hobi.” Yoongi is still mentally beating himself up, but he doesn't show it as he holds his boyfriend close and drifts into a deep but troubled sleep.


	26. XXV.

Junmyeon arrives at The Pi Ttam Nunmul at 8:30 a.m., just like he does every morning, and he frowns at what he sees as he parks. All of the dancers and workers, minus Seokjin, are standing outside the doors. Junmyeon parks and hurries up to the group of people.

“What's going on? Why aren't you all inside?”

“Hi, hyung. The doors are locked.” Jimin says, and everyone nods in confirmation.

“That's odd. Usually our sunbae-nim is here by now and has unlocked the doors.” Looking around, he sees that SiHyuk's car isn't in the parking lot, and he feels a wave of confusion and panic rush through him as he unlocks the doors and heads to SiHyuk's office with Jimin and Jungkook on his heels. “Jimin-ah, Jungkook-ah, where is Seokjin?” he murmurs quietly as he knocks on the door.

“We don't know, hyung. He's normally here by now.”

“We haven't talked to him since yesterday afternoon.” Jungkook flicks a strand of hair out of his eyes.

“That's strange.” Junmyeon knocks again, and, after receiving no answer, he lets himself into SiHyuk's office to find it empty. “Did he tell you anything important when you talked to him?”

“Yeah, he said he was going on a date with Namjoon-hyung.”

“He did?” Jungkook looks confused. “I don't remember that.”

“You were too spaced out from the leg massage I was giving you.” Jimin giggles at Jungkook's flustered expression before looking around SiHyuk's office. “It looks like everything is still here.” Junmyeon is glancing over the shelves, and Jimin's eyes fall on the desk. “Oh, look, there's a folder with your name on it, hyung.” Jimin picks it up and hands it to his hyung.

“Jimin-ah, try calling Seokjin, and Jungkook-ah, call Namjoon please.” The two younger males nod, and Junmyeon opens the folder and his eyes scan the first page. “He's giving me The Pi Ttam Nunmul?” he murmurs to himself in surprise.

“Um, hyung?” Jimin says timidly, interrupting Junmyeon from reading another page. He patiently looks at the younger. Jimin continues, “Seokjin-hyung's phone went straight to voicemail.”

“Jimin-hyung, Junmyeon-hyung, you need to hear this.” Jungkook looks as if he's in tears as he rushes back into the room and taps the screen. “Hyung, you're on speaker phone.”

“Thank you, Jungkook-ah.” It's Hoseok's voice. “Namjoon-hyung and Yoongi-hyung are distraught. I have some bad news.” He tells them everything, ending with the fact that the Duchess and SiHyuk teamed up to kidnap Seokjin and they have no idea where they could have taken him. Completely shaken, Junmyeon sinks to his knees in the middle of the office, letting the folder full of papers fall to the floor.

“What?” he breathes.

“Oh my God.” Jimin gasps and steps closer to the phone. “Is there anything we can do?”

“I'm not sure. Where are you?”

“We're in his office.” Jimin says the word 'his' with contempt.

“Actually, it's my office now.” Junmyeon's voice is quiet, but Jimin, Jungkook, and even Hoseok hear him clearly.

“What?!” Jungkook bends to retrieve a few of the scattered papers, and, sure enough, they're documents signing ownership of The Pi Ttam Nunmul over to Kim Junmyeon. “Holy-- yeah, he signed ownership over to Junmyeon-hyung.”

“Okay, I'll keep you updated when I know something. Yoongi-hyung is going to meet with Kyungsoo-hyung right now. I'm going to go to work. Namjoon-hyung is distraught but going as well.”

“Alright, we'll see you later.” Jungkook ends the call and, with the help of Jimin, works on gathering up the papers scattered around a still shaken Junmyeon.

“How could he do this?” he asks as Jimin helps him up and into the chair behind the large wooden desk. “How could he betray us and Seokjin-ah like this?”

“I wish I knew, hyung,” Jimin murmurs. He looks like he's about to cry, and when Junmyeon looks at him with sympathetic eyes, he can't hold it in anymore, and he covers his face as he runs from the room, followed closely by Jungkook.

Junmyeon stares around the office in disbelief before finally looking down at the papers in front of him. Among them, he finds a short note.

Dear Junmyeon-ah,

I am sorry for the short and unexpected notice, but I am giving you The Pi Ttam Nunmul and moving to the country for an early retirement. Please-

Junmyeon doesn't even read the rest of it because he knows whatever is in it is a lie. With a sharp laugh of contempt, he crumples up the note and tosses it across the room, and he sighs as he rakes his fingers through his hair. He busies himself going through the file SiHyuk left him, while answering questions the dancers have, because of course Jimin and Jungkook spread the news to everyone. Before long, Junmyeon has the story burned into his brain, but it doesn't make it any less painful to tell.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Namjoon, what's gotten into you? You were so bright and eager yesterday. What changed?” Namjoon's supervisor addresses him as he's sitting at his desk, staring listlessly at a document on the computer screen in front of him.

“Ah, my boyfriend got kidnapped last night, and I'm worried about him.”

“Wait, what? Then why did you come in to work?” The supervisor sits on the edge of Namjoon's desk and looks down at him with concern.

“I didn't want to look like a flake and not show up on my second day.”

“Well, I admire you for that, but if your mind is preoccupied with that, then you won't be of any use to us here. I suggest busying yourself with your work. It might help. I don't know what else to say other than that. And I hope your boyfriend is okay.”

“Thank you, sir. On both counts. I will work diligently and finish everything I have set for me today.”

“Good, I know you will. And if you finish early, don't feel like you have to stick around, alright?”

“Okay. Thank you again, sir.” He bows his head in respect, and his supervisor nods his head once before walking off to tend to other things. Namjoon busies himself with his work, and he's able to accomplish quite a bit, until he receives a notification for a new email. He opens it to see a breaking story sent from one of the journalists for him to review. The headline reads 'Kim Seokjin, The Star of The Pi Ttam Nunmul, Goes Missing.' Namjoon stares at the screen in disbelief.

One of his coworkers notices and walks over to him. “Hey, kid, you look like you've seen a ghost or something.”

All Namjoon can do is point to the screen and whisper “Th-that's my boyfriend.”

“Oh man,” his coworker murmurs. “I'm sorry.” He pats Namjoon's shoulder and walks off. A moment later, his supervisor comes back.

“Namjoon?” He looks at the screen. It only takes him a second to put two and two together. “I'll forward this story to another editing intern.” He types a few keys on the keyboard in front of Namjoon, and seconds later, the story disappears from the screen. “I will make sure everything having to do with that story goes to other editors, alright?” When Namjoon doesn't respond, he sighs. “Okay. Go home. This is obviously traumatizing you, and you can't be here around it.”

“But, what about--”

“No buts. Please, go home now.” He nods firmly and turns on his heel to walk towards someone who called his name. Namjoon sighs as he gathers his things and starts to walk out. “Oh, kid, I want to see you back tomorrow!” Namjoon nods towards him and waves with a short, awkward gesture of his hand and leaves the office. His drive home is quiet. When he gets there, he passes right by Yoongi and Kyungsoo without a word, goes straight to his room, and shuts and locks the door. Once he's alone, he climbs into bed and sleeps for the rest of the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next two months go by without a word about Seokjin, the Duchess, or SiHyuk. Junmyeon settles in to running The Pi Ttam Nunmul, making sure everyone is safe and happy, and to help him, he hires Jongdae as a mental carer for the dancers. Baekhyun gets hired on as a dancer and singer, and he soon becomes a crowd favorite. Taehyung's movie eventually picks back up with a new director, and he, Jimin, and Jungkook celebrate in the best ways they know how before Taehyung leaves for Busan to film it. Yoongi and Hoseok finally get engaged and start planning their wedding. Yoongi lets Hoseok handle everything, all the while hiding a growing addiction to alcohol to cover up the otherwise overwhelming guilt he feels from not saving Seokjin like he could have.

Namjoon excels at his job and is on the way to earning a promotion, but of course, he can't keep Seokjin off of his mind. He misses him so much it still hurts. He finds it strange that the police or even Kyungsoo and his team haven't had any luck finding where Seokjin, SiHyuk, or the Duchess are. The trail seems to have gone cold. He hasn't even heard anything through the newspaper he works for in about a month.

One day, he's in another part of the country with some coworkers, a mix of journalists and editors, on an assignment to write about a chain of bookstores that's going bankrupt. He's on his lunch break, sitting outside a sandwich shop and chatting with one of his female coworkers, and watching the people go by, observing all the couples and thinking that he could have been one of them. He feels a lump rising in his throat and takes a drink of his boba tea to quell it, when he sees something that makes him freeze.

Across the street coming out of a coffee shop are two very familiar people. One is a woman with dyed blonde hair, stylishly dressed in a red sleeveless turtleneck and black-and-white houndstooth skirt, not a hair out of place. The other is a tall man with broad shoulders and raven black hair, wearing a light pink t-shirt with expensive-looking dark jeans. They're hand in hand, laughing, and having a lively conversation. Namjoon rises from his seat in shock and, before he can stop himself, he yells out “Seokjin-ah!!”

Seokjin turns, looks at him, and waves a little before turning back to the Duchess, and the two turn the corner and are gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for sticking with me through this! If the ending feels rushed, don't worry, I planned it that way. There is going to be a sequel, and it'll be posted soon! Stay tuned~


End file.
